Hard to Say Important Things
by StandByMe4ever787
Summary: Have you ever tried to tell someone something so important, but knew that you couldn't? Why are important things so hard to say? Now Complete!
1. The Beginning

"The most important things are the hardest to say"-Stephen King. Mr. King is right, the most important things are the hardest to say, such as "I love you". That's always a hard thing to say because it's so important and could change your life forever. Those three words have so much power when strung together. There's another quote that I've taken a liking to: "After the first death, there is no other."-Dylan Thomas. Mr. Thomas is more right than anybody could believe. After the death of someone, everybody else dies with that person, or at least that is how I interpret it. But I learned that the hard way. Because I'm dead. My passing away was caused by the death of another person. Suppose you mixed "I love you" and "the death" together. What would you get? The end of my life.

"You're a fucking liar! You ain't got no royal flush!" one boy named Teddy Duchamp declared in protest.

Another boy laid out his hand and revealed his royal flush of spades.

"Oh really? I think not. Give me your money, shitheap," Christopher Chambers said with a smirk on his face.

"Shit," Teddy mumbled under his breath.

The two boys were sitting on the steps of their friend's porch. They were playing a form of poker, and Chris was winning easily. Another boy was two steps above them, laying on the step and looking up at the blue sky which was covered with gray, angry storm clouds. The last of the four boys was under the porch, digging frantically in the dirt. He was in search of a jar of pennies that he had buried under the porch two years back. The poor boy just wouldn't give up. And the others didn't have the heart to tell him that they found the pennies one day and bought candy with it. These boys were now fourteen and getting ready to enter high school. They were all friends, but the four of them felt each other drifting apart slowly but surely. They seemed to be splitting into pairs now, for Chris and Gordie, the one who was laying on the step, had been best friends forever, and they felt themselves moving away from Teddy and Vern, the one under the porch. They were in separate classes, Gordie and Chris in the college courses and Teddy and Vern in the shop courses. Their interests were starting to vary and they began to lose some touch. But the four boys gathered together on this day before school started in a week, almost to the two-year anniversary of their journey to find the body of a missing boy named Ray Brower. That was an important event in all of their lives, and they knew that they would never forget it. They didn't look much different from that time when they were twelve. Gordon Lachance was still as skinny as a beanpole, and had huge doe-like brown eyes. His dark brown hair sometimes hung into his face because of the way it was styled and he still had a deep passion for making up stories and of course still missed his older brother, Denny, who had died in a jeep accident, but he seemed to become a little more relaxed. His best friend Christopher Chambers was the tallest and oldest of the gang, and still the leader. He looked almost exactly the same, but somehow more appealing. His ocean blue eyes, his dirty blonde hair, his normal sized figure-everything was the same. Except that there were more bruises and cuts on his tan skin now, for his father had gotten angry over him taking the college courses. He was the heart and soul of the group, the one with the heart of gold. Teddy Duchamp was still the craziest person around and had that anger inside of him from his father. His hair was like caramel, and his eyes were like chocolate. He wore his coke-bottle glasses and his silver dog tag around his neck. He seemed to get crazier and crazier by the day. Vern Tessio had grown somewhat slimmer over the two years, but his stiff and short black hair and his enormous light blue eyes were the same. His scardey-cat attitude still stuck with him, and so did his amazing stupidity. But sometimes, Vern surprised the gang. Just like he did on this day.

"Hey you guys!" Vern called as he crawled out from under the porch and wiped the dirt off of himself.

"What?" Teddy asked with an annoyed tone as Chris put his nickels in his pockets.

"My cousin's coming over. She has to stay here for a year I think. Her parents are taking a trip across the country and don't want to take her."

"A girl cousin?" Teddy asked with anticipation in his voice. He had become a little girl crazy.

"Yeah. Remember the one I was telling you guys about a long time ago? The fat one? God, last time I saw her, she was blown up like an air balloon!" Vern exclaimed.

Teddy sighed, disappointed.

"So she has to come to school here and stuff?" Chris asked.

Vern nodded.

"Well I guess that'll be cool," Chris said.

"What! A fatty like her! You think it'll be cool!" Teddy burst out unbelievably.

"Teddy, you're too into the looks. C'mon man, deal."

With a sigh of frustration, Teddy dealt the cards out and went on to be beaten by Chris seven times.

"God damnit! Lose would ya, wet end!" Teddy yelled.

"Not my fault that I'm good," Chris replied.

"Is your cousin going to be in the college courses?" Gordie questioned suddenly.

"Yeah, she's supposed to be like this huge genius or something….why?"

"Just wondering."

Teddy smirked. "I think you're interested, Lachance!"

Gordie sat up and looked at Teddy pitifully.

"At least I don't push, and get down on my hands and knees and beg, unlike others."

"Hey, the girls like me! And I dig the girls!" Teddy said casually, standing up. "I dig the ladies like Vern digs those holes under his porch!"

"And you both can't get what you're looking for," Gordie said in a smooth voice. This made Chris burst into laughter, Teddy angry, and Vern confused.

"I don't like the holes under my porch! I have to dig them so I can find my pennies!" Vern exclaimed.

Chris instantly stopped laughing and sighed with annoyance.

"It's a joke, Vern," he said while rolling his eyes.

"Well Lachance, I bet I can make this girl fall for me faster than any of you could!" Teddy claimed.

"If we're making this a bet, then I'm not doing it. It's Vern's cousin for god sakes!"

Teddy rolled his eyes. "Just remember that I'm the best."

Gordie sighed and smiled. "Yeah Teddy, you're the best."

"Damn right I am!"

"Anyway, I was wondering, she's coming over tomorrow, and I want you guys to stay here and help me get her settled. Will ya?" Vern asked hopefully.

"Pssh, no," Teddy said immediately.

"I can't, Vern. I have to help my mom with some work around the house," Gordie said.

"I guess I will. Anything's better than staying with my dad," Chris replied gravely, and him and Gordie exchanged glances.

"Great! We have to stay here though and wait, Billy's picking her up from the train station at noon-"

"Hey you guys, it's raining. Wanna go inside?" Gordie asked, his palm up with rain falling into it.

The other three boys nodded and followed Gordie into Vern's house. It was a wise thing, because soon rain started to pour and the wind rapped violently on the windows of the house. Little did they know that tomorrow would bring up one more experience that the boys would share.


	2. The Arrival

Thanks for reviewing Pureblood Princess-A, Vedgirl1201, and HellGirlAngel! And to answer Vedgirl's question, the girl will be fluffy at first but then she'll become angsty. And if you meant in terms of fat? Well, you shall see!

A/N: The first paragraph at the beginning of the chapter was Vern's cousin's POV in later years. Just so you know and weren't thinking 'this is girl is psycho!' And I hope the characters don't seem OOC!

Billy Tessio waited very impatiently for his 14 year old cousin to get off the train. The train had already arrived, what was taking her so long? To pass time, Billy had brought Charlie Hogan and Vince Desjardins with him, but they weren't doing their job of helping to keep him entertained. They stared at girls passing them in both directions and debated on which was the prettiest. Billy sighed in frustration as people began to board the train. That meant that everybody had gotten off already. Where the hell was she? _Mom had to make me come get her, I just couldn't fuck off the job and go see Connie! Lord, I'm going to die if I have to wait a second longer for that fat-ass fucker!_

"Hey man, did you see that one?" Charlie asked Vince, nodding at a tall, skinny blonde girl who looked a little older than them.

"That one's a nice broad. Whoa! Look over there! Now _that's _a good looking chick!" Vince exclaimed, pointing at a girl who was nearing them.

Billy rolled his eyes but couldn't help but look at where Vince was pointing. His jaw nearly fell to the ground. The girl caught sight of Billy and ran towards him. She stopped right in front of him, dropped her suitcases, and gave him a hug around the waist. The two other boys watched with wide eyes.

"Billy! Oh my god, it's so great to see you!" the girl squealed with excitement.

"A-Abbie?" Billy said with disbelief.

"Yes silly, it's me!" Abbie replied. Abbie Tessio had lost much weight. She had gone from being "close to three hundred pounds" to around one hundred and twenty five, making her stomach more toned, but she looked so much thinner and healthier. She had eyes that had a mix of brown and dark green, and her light brown hair with natural blonde highlights hung around her chest, which was now the largest thing she had. She wore semi-tight dark blue jeans and a somewhat baggy army green t-shirt with rather small keds. Abbie broke away from Billy and looked over Charlie and Vince.

"I'm guessing these are your friends that are part of that gang, what was it? The Cobras? Oh yeah, that's it," she said, seeing the tattoo on Vince's left arm. "So," she said casually, pointing at Charlie, "You must be Ace Merrill."

Charlie grinned. "For you, I can be anything!"

Vince hit him on the arm. "This is not Ace. That's Charlie Hogan, who wishes he was Ace."

Abbie laughed. "And who are you?"

Vince smirked. "Ace, of course."

Abbie looked him up and down.

"You're not Ace Merrill. Ace Merrill looks scarier than you," she decided.

"I'm scary!" Vince claimed.

"I bet you are," Abbie said sarcastically, "I bet you scare the living shit out of all the lovely, happy-go-lucky townspeople!"

"Watch what you say to a Cobra!" Billy hissed, "We can come after you, you know!"

"Well, that makes me feel very safe in your house, Billy Tessio! And where is Vern?"

"That little fuck-head? He's waiting for you at home," Billy replied.

"Well then what the hell are we standing around this place for? I know that you three would rather be hanging with the rest of the Cobras or giving some sweet loving to a girl, and I would rather be hanging with Vern! Let's go dipshits!" Abbie called, picking up her two leather suitcases and skipping out to Billy's car, followed by the three older boys, who seemed slightly confused by her behavior. Abbie seated herself in the backseat. Vince slid in next to her, Charlie sat in the passenger seat, and Billy drove. The three boys talked, but Abbie didn't feel like it. She hummed quietly to herself and looked out as she sped through different parts of Castle Rock. It looked much different than California, would she be able to stand it here? Billy soon pulled up to the front of the two-story house, and let Abbie out.

"I'll talk to you later, ok?" Billy said.

"Sure," Abbie responded.

With that, Billy sped off down the road, and she thought she could hear the laughs of Charlie and Vince. She rolled her eyes, picked up her suitcases, and entered the house. It looked exactly as it did the last time she was here, with many knick knacks hanging around and nice, neat furniture. Her aunt was waiting for her at the door.

"Oh Abbie! How have you been dear?" her Aunt Fay asked while almost squeezing her to death.

"Fine, I've been great, Aunt Fay!" she exclaimed. She really loved her aunt, she was almost like a second mother sometimes.

"Oh honey, it's so great to see you! I'll tell you what, go put your things in your room and organize it the way you want. Then I want you and Vern to come down and we'll all have a nice meal! How does that sound?"

"Sounds great!" Abbie said as she started up the stairs.

"Second door to the right, next to Vern's room! He's waiting for you in yours!" Aunt Fay called as Abbie reached the second floor.

She pushed open the door to reveal Vern right in front of her.

"Oh. My. God. Veeeeeern!" Abbie screamed as she brought him to the floor in a huge hug.

"Abbie….you look so different!" Vern said in awe, ignoring the pain in his ribs where his cousin still laid.

"So do you! You look thinner too! I guess the Tessios get slimmer as we go on!" Abbie said as she rolled off of Vern and stood up.

Vern gave a small laugh and then reached out his hand for her to take. She pulled him up and they stared at each other. It never occurred to Abbie how much Vern had grown up since the last time she saw him, which was when they were ten. Looking at this different Vern made her feel old, and she knew that the years were passing by fast.

"Uhh….Vern?"

Abbie gave her head a few small shakes to get herself out of her daze and looked towards where the voice was coming from. Her eyes got wide and she felt her heart rate quicken. Over on the bed, which was white and had real-looking dark blue flowers on it, was a boy with dirty blonde hair and ocean colored eyes. His skin was very tan from the sun, and he looked tall with a normal figure. The boy wore jeans that were patched and ripped in different places and a plain white t-shirt, he had his shoes off. He was sitting casually, his head leaning up against the head board on the bed, his arms crossed, legs stretched out and feet crossed. His eyes were playful, and he was wearing a suggestive smirk.

"Who are you?" Abbie asked, looking the boy up and down.

"I'm Christopher Chambers. And you _must _be Abbie. Jesus Christ, Vern talks about you all the time!" Chris responded.

Abbie walked over to the bed and took Chris' outstretched hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Christopher."

"Call me Chris."

"No problem. So, Vern talks about me all the time, eh?" she asked, casting Vern a look with a smile.

"Yep. He said you were close to three hundred pounds!"

The color drained out of Abbie's face.

"He WHAT?" she yelled, stomping over to Vern. "You think I'm close to three hundred pounds? And you tell your friends? Do I even _know _you?"

Vern cowered.

"Don't take it too bad, Abbie. Vern's a really good guy. He's wrong though. You look nice," Chris said with a laugh.

Abbie turned back to Chris and sat on the bed. "Thanks."

After a few minutes of silence, Vern came over and seated himself next to her.

"I'm sorry," Vern said, and his eyes were full of pleading.

"It's alright, Vern," Abbie replied.

He let out a big sigh.

"Good! Now, what do you want to do?"

"Well, your mom wants me to unpack and then wants us to come to dinner," Abbie told him.

Vern rolled his eyes and Chris snorted.

"She loves cooking, I swear to God!" Vern said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, and she makes everybody eat what she cooks. All of it. Can you say gag fest?" Chris whispered to her. She giggled.

"Well, let's get you unpacked, shall we?" Chris said like it was a huge mission that had to be completed.

So Abbie, Vern, and Chris put the clothes away, helped arrange the bathroom(although Abbie made sure they didn't get their hands on something they didn't need), and put different things of Abbie's up on the walls. Two hours later they were done, and they all trouped down the stairs to the smell of Fay Tessio's cooking.

"Well hello! Just in time!" Aunt Fay called, "Christopher, sweetheart, are you staying for dinner?"

Chris looked down at his feet.

"No Ma'am. I have to get back home…..err….Deborah needs me," he replied with an odd sound to his voice.

"Alright then dear, see you soon!" Aunt Fay said cheerfully.

Chris looked at Vern and Abbie.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys around."

"Definitely," Abbie responded.

Chris smiled and said, "Great. See you tomorrow then."

And with that, the boy exited the house. Abbie stared after him. He was such a good kid, and nice-looking too. Abbie was excited about seeing Chris tomorrow, he had made a very good impression. She was going to need friends desperately in Castle Rock for this year, and letting him be her first friend would not be a bad idea.

"Alright you two, dinner time!" Aunt Fay ordered, gesturing towards the wooden table with three places set.

"Where's dad? And Billy?" Vern asked.

"Dad has to stay late at the arsenal. Billy said that he wouldn't be able to make it for dinner. I want a full excuse when that boy gets home, it's his cousin's first night here!" Aunt Fay said, and made a tutting noise.

Vern and Abbie sat down and the table and ate their dinner with Aunt Fay, and it wasn't bad at all! The three of them talked about Castle Rock and what was to do here, although Aunt Fay kept mentioning schoolwork. They then moved on to the subject of friends, and this conversation interested Abbie the most.

"So Abbie, what did you think of Christopher?" Aunt Fay questioned.

"He was great. Very nice and very funny," Abbie replied.

"You know," Aunt Fay said with a sparkle in her eyes, "He comes from an awful family, but he's pretty sweet. I think he's just a _darling _young man."

"Mom! It's Abbie's first night and you're already shoving guys down her throat!" Vern cried, "And besides, she's not going to be with Chris."

Abbie gave him a confused look but with a smirk.

"Then who? Do I have to grab another one of your friends? Is Chris to precious for me to taint him with my ways?"

Aunt Fay laughed.

"Oh well, dear. If you don't find Christopher suitable, there's always Gordon Lachance. He's a very charming boy as well," Aunt Fay commented.

"Moooooooooom!" Vern groaned.

"Gordon? I think you told me about him, Vern," Abbie said, looking thoughtful, "You didn't even mention Chris before. I think you talked about another boy though. What's his name?"

"Teddy Duchamp," Vern said, casting his mom a look.

Aunt Fay rolled her eyes.

"That one is a little menace! He's crazy!"

"Well," Abbie said, "He must be perfect for me then. I bet we'll become great friends."

Aunt Fay sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Abbie! Alright, if you two are done, you may go upstairs."

Vern and Abbie put their plates up by the sink and went upstairs. They talked for awhile, until it was ten. Vern was about to exit Abbie's room, but then he poked his head back inside.

"I'm glad you're here," Vern told her.

"Thanks, me too!"

Vern gave her a smile and left. Abbie changed into her pajamas and then went to bed an hour later.


	3. Meeting Friends and Enemies

Abbie woke up the next morning early. She dressed into jeans and a blue t-shirt. She put her hair up into a very high ponytail, put on some mascara, and then went downstairs to find Vern waiting for her.

"C'mon, Abbie! I want you to meet the other guys!" Vern exclaimed.

So the two exited the house, walked along the sidewalk, through what seemed like a million bushes, and soon they were in front of a tree house. Vern climbed up the ladder and Abbie followed. He stopped right before a door, a trap door, and rapped his knuckles on it. The two of them waited for a minute, but the door wouldn't open.

"C'mon guys, let me up!" Vern called.

"No," Abbie heard.

Vern sighed, "Pleeeeeease?"

"Let's think about that for another moment," the same voice said, "no."

"Alright smartass, are we gonna have to break the door?" Abbie yelled up to the voice.

"A GIRL! Out of the way, Gordie, I'm opening the door!" the voice commanded.

Abbie smirked. The only way to get a guy to let you up.

The door opened and Vern scrambled up, with Abbie following.

"Hey guys!" Vern said cheerfully after he straightened himself out, "This is my cousin, Abbie."

She smiled at a boy who was very skinny and had huge brown eyes and dark brown hair. He was wearing jeans and a red and green striped t-shirt. He gave a small shy smile back.

"I'm Gordie Lachance," the boy said.

"Nice to meet you, Gordie!" Abbie told him, "I hear that you are a very charming boy."

Gordie laughed. "Vern likes me that much, does he?"

"Hey! I don't like you like that!" Vern claimed.

"He sure does," Abbie said, ignoring Vern, "Last night I heard him moan in the next room…. 'Oh Gordie, oh Gordie!'"

Gordie smiled and commented, "Sounds like something Vern would do. I hope it's not the same with you."

Abbie chuckled, "Not at all, not at all."

She turned her head and caught another boy with thick black glasses and caramel colored hair staring at her with a grin on his face. He was wearing an army green t-shirt and black pants.

"And who are you?" Abbie asked, disdain in her tone. Clearly this was the boy who wouldn't let them up before.

"Teddy, Teddy Duchamp. You know, Abbie's a very pretty name for such a pretty girl like you-"

Abbie placed her hand up.

"Please stop before you make me sick."

"As you wish, mademoiselle."

Abbie shook her head and muttered, "Oh lord."

She heard a laugh from behind her. She turned her head and saw Chris snickering, his eyes upon her.

"Chris Chambers, we meet again," she said in a mock-formal voice, taking a tiny bow in front of him.

"Yep," he replied, "Ignore Teddy, his head is inflated."

"Hey! My head is perfect, thank you very much!" Teddy interjected.

"Yeah, I know. I hear that he's a menace to society."

Teddy turned upon Vern.

"Vern-o? What have you been poisoning her mind with?"

"Oh, and I also hear that you are a very darling young man," Abbie told Chris.

"Vern's right with Teddy and I, then. Not too sure about what he said about Gordie though," Chris said, winking at her.

"I'm a very charming boy! Right, Vern? Right?" Gordie questioned.

"Erm…."

"You seem charming to me, Gordie," Abbie said politely.

"Aha! You are poisoning her mind, Tessio!" Teddy cried, pointing at Vern.

Vern moaned and buried his face in his hands.

The other four laughed. Abbie took note to Teddy's laugh, which sounded like _Eeeeeeeeeee! _And this made her giggle even more.

"You guys are cooler than I thought you would be," Abbie remarked.

The four boys looked at her.

"Just saying," Abbie mumbled.

"Eh, no problem. Hey guys, wanna show the girl a good time?" Chris asked.

"Chris Chambers! That will be _my _job!" Teddy yelled.

"_I didn't mean like that!_" Chris hissed.

"Oh. Then sure, let's go!" Teddy called triumphantly, already starting down the ladder.

The others followed and soon they were strolling past shops and alleyways, joking around with each other. Abbie liked these two other boys as well. Gordie seemed really intelligent, and the most sensitive of the group. Teddy was just as Aunt Fay had described: crazy. He laughed the loudest, talked the loudest, and he even was going to jump in the middle of the street when a car was coming, but after Abbie pleaded he decided not to.

"So, where do you guys live around in town?" Abbie asked.

"Well, we passed up my house already," Gordie told her, "It was two stories and had the blue shutters. From where we are right now, it was about four blocks away."

"My house is down on the other side of town. It's close to the Castle Rock Bridge," Teddy said.

"And there's my house," Chris muttered, looking at his shoes.

Abbie looked up and saw a very dingy looking house…..was it even a house? It looked like a large shack. It was mostly wooden and there was trash in the un-mowed lawn.

"Oh. Ok," Abbie said, not wanting to make him feel bad.

"It's alright, I know my house looks like shit-"

"As do you!"

The group whipped around and saw a tall blonde guy who looked around eighteen or nineteen, wearing a black shirt with black pants. He looked different from anybody else she had ever seen. Abbie didn't know what was it about him, but he looked absolutely terrifying. Next to him was a shorter but still tall guy with greasy-looking black hair. His right eye looked weird and jittery, and he had on a red polo shirt and jeans. Both of them had on smirks.

"Well, well, well, looks like the faggots actually picked up a girl," the black haired guy commented.

"They're all girls, Eyeball," the blonde said and started to laugh. His laugh was so cold, but smooth. It scared the living shit out of her.

"Can you please just leave us alone?" Gordie asked, but with annoyance.

"If we take the girl with us, we'll shove off," the black haired guy bargained.

Chris stepped forward.

"No way, Eyeball. When he said leave us alone, he meant all of us. So why don't you and your boyfriend Ace just go fuck each other?" Chris seethed, and it sounded like hate was just dripping from his words. Abbie stared wide eyed at him. How could someone be that brave? It seemed like it happened in one quick second. Chris had turned around and then in a flash Ace had his whole body pressed on top of Chris', pushing his head into the cement.

"Oh shit!" Chris moaned.

Ace pushed his head harder.

"Take it back, Chambers."

Abbie's eyes darted back and forth between everybody. The other three boys just seemed frozen, but Eyeball was laughing.

"Stop it, you're hurting him!" Abbie commanded shakily, but confident.

"Bastard! Let go man!" Chris yelled.

"Stop it!" Abbie repeated.

Ace lifted Chris' head up high, and for a second Abbie felt a rush of relief. But then Ace suddenly gripped it tighter and smashed Chris' head onto the cement. Chris groaned with immense pain, and then Ace did it once more.

"Leave him alone!" Abbie screamed, "Take me with you! I'll go wherever you want!"

Ace had just lifted Chris' head up, but he dropped it back onto the cement and stood up. Gordie was glaring daggers at the both of them, and Teddy looked ready for a fight. Vern, however, was still staring at the whole scene, frozen in place with fear.

"C'mon, fight us!" Teddy dared.

Ace ignored him, but gave Gordie a smirk. Eyeball darted forward, grabbed Abbie's arm, and pulled her back to him and Ace. Chris remained on the ground, his hands holding his head and his eyes closed.

"Catch you cats, later!" Ace called, and with that the two boys walked away, dragging Abbie with them. The boys led her to a black Ford and forced her into the car. They sped off down the road, Ace driving and Eyeball still holding onto her in the back. Abbie couldn't believe that she traded herself for a guy that she didn't know too well yet. But he had stood up for her, so she had to stand up for him. She hoped Chris was going to be alright. She stared at her feet while Eyeball stared at her, a genuine smirk on his face.

"Boy, Ace, we really got a good one on our hands," Eyeball commented.

"Oh yes we do," Ace replied smoothly. Abbie looked up at the back of Ace's head. So this was Ace. Suddenly, something clicked. Ace…..Ace……Ace Merrill! This was Ace Merrill, Billy's friend!

"Hey, aren't you the leader of the Cobras?" Abbie asked, forcing interest into her voice.

Ace looked back at her and said, "I guess you heard about me already."

"Yes, the infamous leader, Ace Merrill."

Ace smirked. "Infamous, huh? What do you think of me?"

"Hey, if you're the leader of the Cobras, you must be pretty boss," Abbie remarked, "Do you think I can meet the rest of the Cobras? I want to make sure that you really are the leader."

"I am boss and the leader," Ace said arrogantly, and then pulled up into a junkyard. The three of them got out of the car and walked over to a group of five boys.

"Meet the Cobras, baby. Jack, Fuzzy, Charlie, Vince, and Billy," Ace said, pulling Abbie out of Eyeball's grip and into his own.

Charlie, Vince, and Billy recognized her right away. Just what she was hoping for.

"Abbie?" Vince asked with disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" Charlie questioned.

"None of your fucking business, Charlie," Ace replied rudely, "And how do you cock-knockers know her?"

"Ace, man, that's my cousin!" Billy cried.

Ace rolled his eyes, "That fat one that you were talking about?"

Abbie's eyes widened with fury.

"Do you and Vern just go tell everyone that I used to be heavy?" Abbie asked Billy.

Ace did a double take, and asked, "So you are his cousin?"

"Yes, god damnit! Can I leave now?" Abbie burst out.

"Yeah, c'mon, where do you want to go?" Billy questioned before Ace could say anything.

"Just get me in the damn car, Billy. Then I'll tell you."

So Billy grabbed Abbie, put her in his car, and then they raced off without another word from Ace or the rest of the gang.

"Abbie, what the hell were you doing with Ace and Eyeball?" Billy demanded.

"They kidnapped me! Those cheap hoods!" Abbie yelled.

"Well, it doesn't matter; let's just get you away from them."

"Why?"

"They aren't your type. How did they find you?"

"I was with Vern and Gordie Lachance and Teddy Duchamp and Chris Chambers-"

"You were with Chris Chambers?" Billy asked, "And Eyeball took you while he was there?"

"Yeah, so what?" Abbie asked, annoyed.

"He's Eyeball's little brother."

The color drained from Abbie's face. How could Eyeball watch Ace hurt his little brother and laugh about it? He didn't make one move to stop Ace at all, just watched! What kind of brother does that? She felt anger pulse through her. Suddenly, she caught sight of four familiar faces.

"Drop me off here!"

Billy stopped the car and let Abbie out.

"Be careful, would ya?" Billy said, and then sped off.

Abbie ran over to the guys who were still in the same place where Abbie had last left them. Gordie stood up the moment he saw her.

"Oh my fucking god, are you ok?" Gordie asked.

"I'm fine, they just took me to some junkyard and Billy was there, so he got me away."

"Thank god," a voice replied thickly, and Abbie looked down to see Chris. She immediately bent down beside him. He had a bloody nose, some blood trickling down his temple, and his face was a little bruised on the side where Ace had first pressed him down.

"Now, are _you _ok?" Abbie questioned worriedly.

"Yeah, but boy, you're lucky. Those two would have done something really bad," Chris replied.

"Ace was awful. But Chris, how could your brother just watch Ace do that to you?" Abbie asked with amazement.

Chris sighed, "He just can."

"We should have taken them out for ya!" Teddy said angrily, his fists clenched, "We could have taken them on!"

Abbie gave him a small smile. "I bet you could have."

"We should have done something besides stand there," Vern finally commented. He had seemed like he was in a daze of some sort.

"Well, Vern, I'm finally glad that an idiot like you came to that conclusion," Abbie said seriously, but ended up laughing with the three other boys.

"Chris, I think you should go to the hospital or something," Abbie told him, studying his injuries better.

He snorted, "The _hospital_? I've had worse…." His voice trailed off.

"Well, we at least better get you home," Abbie decided.

"No, he's staying at my house tonight," Gordie said firmly.

"Alright, then lets get him over there," Abbie ordered.

Gordie and Teddy helped Chris up and the five walked slowly to Gordie's house. Teddy got Chris to put all of his weight on Gordie when they were about to enter the house, although Abbie didn't know how, Gordie was clearly the smallest of the group.

"Well, we'll see you guys tomorrow," Chris said.

"No," Abbie said sternly, "You have been hurt pretty bad, and I will not stand to have you out and about while you are injured. You need to rest and heal up, so get inside. Now!"

"Jesus Christ woman, I'm going, I'm going!" Chris exclaimed, him and Gordie walking into the house and out of sight. Teddy, Vern, and Abbie looked at each other for a few moments before Teddy stated, "Let's go," and the group of three continued to walk along the street. The three of them had a riot, they were all very funny, and mostly Gordie and Chris carried the seriousness in the group, although they were funny as well. Teddy walked Abbie and Vern back to their house and Vern immediately went inside. Abbie hesitated.

"Hey Teddy, can I talk with you for a second?"

Teddy's face lit up and he replied, "Sure!" and the two of them sat down on the porch.

"Teddy…..what's the deal with Ace Merrill and all those other guys with their silly gang?" Abbie asked.

Teddy cocked his head to one side, as in thought.

"Well, they steal things, break things, fuck girls, and do all that other shit they are good doing. And they are just crazy!"

Abbie smiled. "Not as crazy as you."

Teddy beamed, "Well babe, I'm a different type of crazy. I'm "the good" crazy. I just simply rule. But those guys are "the bad crazy". I mean they'll kill you if they want to. This one time when the four of us were down by Back Harlow, they came up-"

Teddy immediately stopped, like he wasn't supposed to say anything.

"Go on," Abbie coaxed, becoming really curious as to what he was saying.

"I will if you kiss me."

Abbie rolled her eyes. "Fine." She leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Now I think I have the motivation to continue," Teddy responded with a wink, "Well, they came up and….well, they just wanted something we had real bad. Vern ran away. And then Ace pulled out a knife, so of course, I tried to convince Chris to run with me but he wouldn't, so I just ran off. I mean, come on, the guy was going to kill me! Holy shit that guy was so close to killing Chris it was unbelievable. But then….KABAAM! Gordie fired a gun straight into the air and made those sons of bitches leave. Man, it was too cool!"

Abbie stared at Teddy. When the hell did this happen? Where did Gordie get a gun from and why wouldn't Chris leave? It sounded like Teddy was covering something up, but what? And why didn't they go tell the police about Ace trying to kill them?

"Wow. That's……that's boss Teddy."

"Yep."

"Well, um, I got to go. Talk to you later," Abbie said, wanting to go up and contemplate the whole thing.

"Alright, I'll be telling everybody you kissed me, bye!" Teddy said, standing up and walking away.

Abbie went straight into the house and sat on her bed, thinking about everything Teddy had just told her.

A/N: This chapter sucked major ass, didn't it? But anyway, I need another character for my story, and I want to base it off of one of you guys! Just tell me your name, what you look like, and your personality most of the time in a review to my story. I have a way of selecting the person at random. I need them by the 13th! Thanks!


	4. Emma and Cammie

A/N: OMG thanks for all of the lovely reviews! You guys so totally rock! Ok, three girls and a guy sent me little bios and stuff. I just couldn't resist, they all sounded so great, so all of them are in my story! Two of you won't come up until the next chapter, sorry! I really hope I write you out good!

Abbie had had a blast during the past week. She hung out with Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern almost every day, and she simply loved being with them. They had mostly hung around in the tree house playing cards and at everybody's houses (except for Chris' for obvious reasons), but it didn't matter, they all had fun. Abbie discovered just how unique and genuine Gordie, Teddy, and Chris were. Gordie had told her several stories of his own, and they were just simply fantastic. She was amazed by Gordie's creativity and sensitivity. Teddy brought out the truly wild side in Abbie, and probably in almost everyone. He was so daring, and so crazy. He even once hung out of the window in Vern's bedroom for four agonizing minutes. Abbie thought Chris would have reached down and pulled him right up if Teddy hadn't of come back up. Chris was the leader of the group to Abbie, and she thought that out of the four boys, he was the best one for the job. He was tough but compassionate, cautious but brave, serious but funny…..he could be the opposite of things he was. Abbie just loved her new best friends, and hoped to make some more since it was going to be the first day of school………

Abbie had dressed nicely for school, only under Aunt Fay's command. She dug through all of her things and found the outfit that would be considered "nice" but still normal. She wore a tight black skirt that fell to just above her knees and a dark blue polo shirt with closed-toed shoes. She let her dirty blonde hair hang around her chest and didn't apply any makeup-she wanted to look natural. Abbie went down the stairs, ate breakfast with her aunt and Vern, grabbed her backpack, and she and Vern walked along the sidewalk to get to school. They strolled in silence, with the exception of Abbie's whistling. She was doing it in tune to her favorite song of all time-Lollipop, by the Chordettes.

"Hey guys!" Vern called. Abbie looked ahead of her and saw Teddy and Chris stopping to wait for them to catch up, which they did. They looked the same as they had done before, they didn't have to get all dressed up. _Lucky them, _Abbie thought.

The four of them walked on together until they reached the school, which was white with an American flag on a pole off to one side. Kids had their bikes parked in different places, and they could be seen hugging each other. Even a couple boys and girls were making out.

"They allow that at school? Jesus," Abbie said with disbelief, as they passed a black haired boy groping a blonde haired girl who giggled loudly.

"They didn't let you do this stuff at your old school? Man, that sucks," Teddy commented.

Abbie rolled her eyes.

"Hey….where's Gordie?" Vern asked, and Abbie wanted to smack herself for not remembering him.

"Over there," Chris nodded his head towards Gordie, who was making his way to them.

"Hey you guys," Gordie said when he made it over, and then looked at Abbie with a small smile, "Hey Abbs."

Abbie smiled back. Gordie had created the nickname for her, and she just loved it.

"Hey Gordie."

"And helloooooo Beautiful!" Teddy exclaimed, his eyes wide with a huge smirk on his face, staring at a girl with curly sandy brown hair that reached the middle of her back. She had heard him and turned to face him. Her eyes were brown and her face was round. She was thin, and had about the same skin tone as he had. She wore a black tank top and black shorts. Her eyebrows were raised with amusement, giving half of a smile.

"My name's Emma, just for the record," she replied.

"You know…..Emma is such a pretty name for such a pretty girl-"

"Well thank you! And you are?"

Teddy's smirked widened. "Teddy Duchamp," he answered with pride in his voice.

"Ahh yes…..I've heard of you," Emma said.

"In good ways, I'm sure!" Teddy responded.

"If you that's what you want," Emma said with a manic grin.

Abbie studied her for a moment. This girl looked crazy!

"What I want is you…." Teddy whispered followed with a low purr that sent Abbie, Gordie, and Chris into fits of silent laughter.

Emma gave him a pleasant smile and put her hand on his shoulder. She moved it back and forth, almost like giving him a massage and stared into his eyes. Emma stopped, stepped back, and replied, "You think you can get me _that _easily? Think again, four eyes!" And with that she continued on her way inside.

"OOOOOO!" Gordie, Chris, Vern, and Abbie chorused together.

"Tough luck man," Chris said with amusement.

Teddy continued to stare after her while they walked into the building and said, "She so wants me."

"If she wanted you, then I'd be dating Vern," Gordie joked.

"Well then, ask him out if you must Lachance," Chris replied.

"Nah, I'll stick with the girls."

"Good choice," Abbie remarked, "But the only reason for that would be that you'd have to be making out with my cousin. Total and complete gross-out."

"Yeah," Gordie agreed.

"Hey!" Vern piped up, but then soon followed Teddy down the hall.

"And besides," Abbie continued as the three made their way towards their first class, "we all know that you have the hots for someone else."

"You do?" Gordie asked confusedly.

"Yep. We all know that you have lust for Chris!" Abbie laughed.

"Shh! People might hear you!" Gordie hissed.

"Ha, I knew it!"

"Wow Gordo, I dunno what to say, except that I will still be your best friend, and that I'm straight," Chris said.

"Me too, asshole."

"Wow, me three!" Abbie gasped as they entered the classroom. Gordie and Chris sat down at a table in the back, and Abbie seated herself next to a girl with long brownish/blondish hair and natural-looking tan skin. She was thin and wore a pink skirt that stopped mid-thigh with a white polo shirt. The girl flashed her a huge smile, her blue-green eyes glowing.

"Hi!" the girl burst out.

"Hey," Abbie said calmly.

"I'm Cameron, but call me Cammie."

"Alright, Cammie. My name's Abbie, Abbie Tessio," Abbie replied.

"I haven't seen you around before, are you new?" Cammie asked.

"Yes, I moved here from California. My parents are on a one-year trip, so I'm living with my cousin."

"Cool!" Cammie exclaimed, "I bet you'll have lots of fun here."

"Oh, I already have been."

"That's great! So, where are you from in California?"

"Well, around the Redwoods area. More towards the northern part, but I've been down around the beaches sometimes. They are so awesome," Abbie responded.

"I've been down there before! The beaches are really boss. It's a shame we don't really have any. They are great places to pick up guys," Cammie commented.

Abbie laughed, "Yeah, there are some pretty nice looking guys at the beach."

"There are some here though."

Abbie looked thoughtful and said, "Name some."

"Well," Cammie said, glancing around to make sure nobody could hear her, "The best looking one is in this very room! And he's super sweet."

"Who?" Abbie asked.

Cammie gave a playful smile and looked behind her. Abbie followed her gaze and raised her eyebrow in surprise, which was usually something done by Chris. Abbie gave a few small laughs and turned back to Cammie.

"Him. Gordon Lachance…." Cammie said with a far-away look in her eyes.

"Gordie?" Abbie questioned while giggling.

"Only his friends call him Gordie. Do you know him?" Cammie asked with much interest in her voice.

"Yeah, he's one of my best friends."

Cammie's beautiful blue-green eyes widened, as did her smile.

"Oh my god….can you introduce me?" she asked.

"Sure," Abbie replied.

"Thanks, you're boss!" Cammie exclaimed.

"Class!" a voice suddenly boomed.

Everybody jumped and turned to look at a very old lady, who looked old fashioned. She wore a white blouse tucked into a black skirt with black dress shoes. She had on glasses that had slipped to the end of her nose, and her hair was gray and frazzled.

"I'm sure some of you remember who I am," the old lady said sourly, "Now, I'm calling attendance. And you had better say here if you are, and if anybody covers up for someone who isn't here, gets a Saturday detention. Now. Amberforth, Amber?"

"Here." responded a tiny girl.

"Bennett, Gina?"

"Here."

"Carlston, Richard?"

"Here."

The teacher stared at her role book for a few minutes with wide eyes.

"There must be some mistake," she said while looking up. She scanned the room until her eyes rested on non other than Chris.

"What are you doing in my classroom, Chambers?" the teacher spat.

"Getting ready to learn," Chris replied, staring at the woman with confidence.

Her eyes became dangerous. "Did I grant you permission for you to be in this room?"

"No."

"Did any of the other teachers give it to you?"

"No."

"The principal?"

"Must of, or I wouldn't be in here right now," Chris shrugged.

The teacher shook her head and stared at him with hawk eyes.

"You don't deserve to be here," the woman said, hate dripping from her words.

Chris stared back, sizing her up and responded, "Well, that's not really your place to say, is it?"

"Did I tell you to speak, Chambers?"

"No."

"Then shut your filthy little mouth," the woman said with an almost teasing tone.

Abbie felt intense dislike bubble inside her. A teacher couldn't talk to a student like that! Chris closed his mouth, and remained silent. The teacher smirked.

"You listen, for once. Someone finally gave you some discipline. Now, continuing on…"

Abbie caught the name of the teacher-Simons. She immediately scribbled the name onto a blank sheet of loose leaf paper and put flames around it with devil horns sitting on top of the capital S. The class wasn't asked any questions, but they were told to write down everything Simons put up on the board. Finally, the bell rang, and it would be time for their next class. Abbie and Cammie got up together and waited by the door for Chris and Gordie.

"Saturday detention, Chambers," Simons said with a smile on her wrinkled face as Chris and Gordie stalked out of the room. When they were out of earshot, Abbie went into a whole façade.

"Who does that woman think she is, bossing you around like that!"

"Abbie-"

"She can't silence you like that either, it's a thing called freedom of speech, she should know that being the history teacher and all!"

"Abbie-"

"Boy that little devil woman has another thing coming, talking about my friend like that, I'll punch in her old rat face!"

"Abbie!" Chris exclaimed.

She turned to look at him.

"It's alright, don't worry about that old pile of shit. I can deal with her myself," Chris said.

"Fine. But if she says one more thing like that in class that old hag woman in going down," Abbie mumbled, " 'then shut your filthy little mouth'…..UGH!"

Chris gave her an annoyed look, but his eyes looked genuinely touched and were shining. Gordie flashed her a smile, and Cammie gave her an identical one.

"Oh, by the way, this is Cammie," Abbie said, after the frustration went down.

"Hey," Chris said.

"Hi!" Cammie burst out. Abbie gave an inwardly smile. She really liked this girl….she was like bubble gum. She was sweet, but it seemed that when she got really pissed off, she'd pop.

"Hi," Gordie replied, giving her a shy smile.

The next few classes flew by fast, and it was time for lunch. Abbie strolled into the cafeteria with Gordie, Cammie, and Chris at her heels, got their lunches, and sat down at a table.

"Could the food not get any grosser?" Cammie asked, picking up an unidentified something with her fork and staring at it with a distasteful expression.

"I know. I don't think even homeless people would eat this shit," Gordie agreed.

Cammie, Chris, and Abbie laughed.

"PARATROOPS, OVER THE SIDE!" a very familiar voice yelled from across the cafeteria. The four of them turned around and saw Teddy running straight towards them and flinging himself over the table. He landed right on his back on the other side but instantly stood up, sat down next to Abbie, and picked something off of her plate and ate it. The four stared at him with disbelieving expressions.

"What?" Teddy asked.

"You continue to amaze me everyday, Duchamp," Abbie said, shaking her head.

"I continue to amaze everybody," Teddy replied arrogantly.

"Yeah, with your utter stupidity," Chris joked, causing everybody to laugh.

"Oh shit," Teddy muttered, "Look who's coming this way!"


	5. More Friends and the Run In

"Oh shit," Teddy muttered, "Look who's coming this way!"

Abbie, Cammie, Chris, and Gordie whipped their heads around to find the girl from earlier this morning, Emma, heading towards their table. Teddy quickly smoothed out his clothes and his hair. He took his coke bottle glasses off, breathed on them, rubbed them with his shirt, and then put them back on. He then plastered a grin on his face just as Emma sat down in the empty seat next to Gordie.

"Well, well, well…..I knew you couldn't resist the charm," Teddy said proudly.

Emma gave him a cold look and picked at her food.

"Hey, are you ok? You were in a very happy mood this morning," Chris asked.

"My friend and I had a fight….."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I know what that's like," Chris responded, glancing over at Teddy, "Don't worry. You two will make up, I'm sure of it."

Emma looked up from her food and raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" she questioned.

"Chris Chambers."

Emma gave a small smile.

"Ah yes, the _Chambers_ boy."

Chris sunk down low in his chair, while the rest of the group, besides Teddy, gave her looks. But her smile grew wider.

"I heard about you taking the college courses. Good for you, it's about time!" Emma exclaimed.

"Thanks," Chris replied, and it sounded as if he let out a sigh of relief.

"So, what brings you to this table?" Teddy asked, trying to hint on something.

"Well, my friend and I had a fight. And I believe that Cammie is one of my other friends as well, and I was surprised to see her sitting with you," she added, causing Teddy to scowl.

"So who did you have a fight with, Em?" Cammie questioned.

"Catie," Emma said somberly, and nodded to the other side of the cafeteria where a pretty brunette girl in jean shorts and a purple t-shirt was talking to some other girls.

"What about?" Teddy demanded as he looked Catie up and down.

"None of your business, and get your eyes off of her. Your vision is bad enough already," Emma snapped.

"Ooooooooo, touchy!" Teddy teased.

"But she's your friend, you'll make up with her," Abbie reassured.

"Maybe I don't want to," Emma said, her head cocked to one side in thought.

"Hey guys!" a voice called cheerfully.

Everyone's heads turned and saw Vern walking towards them with a tall, brown-haired boy with light brown eyes.

"Hey," the boy said politely, "I'm Shawn, Vern's friend."

"Nice to meet you, Shawn," Cammie said back.

"Wow Vern-o, you actually have a friend?" Abbie asked in mock disbelief.

"Excuse me, but what do you call us?" Gordie asked.

"Psychotic freaks with no lives," Emma cut in.

"Ah, touché, dear Emma, touché!" Teddy praised with a wide smirk on his face.

"How very nice of you!" Gordie said sarcastically.

"I'm good at handing out compliments," Emma stated.

"As we can tell," Chris retaliated.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! What are your names again?" Shawn questioned.

Everybody was silent for a moment or two but then started laughing.

"Alright, now we are going to go around and say our names in an organized and dignified manner. Everybody got that? I bet Teddy Duchamp didn't," Abbie said the last part louder than the rest because Teddy had his eyes back on Catie, "I'll start. My name is Abbie Tessio, and I'm Vern's cousin."

"I'm Gordie Lachance," Gordie said quietly.

"I'm Cammie!" Cammie exclaimed.

"I'm Corpal Teddy Duchamp, at your service. Well, the service is for the ladies."

"Oh lord, that boy is annoying. Emma's the name."

"Chris Chambers."

"I'm Vern Tessio."

"I'm Shawn."

"And I'm Catie," a voice said.

Everybody jumped and turned around to see the brunette girl behind them, a genuine smile on her face.

"'Didn't mean to scare you, just passing by. Unless you wouldn't mind if I sat down…?"

"Oh no, not at all!" Teddy replied so quickly that the words were almost incomprehensible.

Catie flashed them another smile, showing off her white teeth. "Thanks," she responded, and took a seat next to Chris while Vern and Shawn sat by Cammie.

"So, Abbie, you're a new girl, huh?" Catie questioned.

"Yes. I just moved here from California and I'm staying here for a year," Abbie answered.

"Ooooooooo, a Cali-girl, very boss," Catie commented.

"Thanks."

The whole group talked through lunch period and got together after school, and they all clicked instantly, although there was still some tension between Emma and Catie. Abbie was glad that Vern snagged some more friends this year, because she knew that he had never been too popular with everyone and that people made fun of him often. Shawn seemed like the perfect friend for Vern- nice, funny, and sometimes thoughtful. Catie was very relaxed, almost as much as Chris was. She had a certain aura about her that gave everyone a good feeling, almost like a sense of protection. Emma was just downright hysterical. She came up with witty come backs to every insult her way, and she loved picking on Teddy, which was something that most people refrained from doing. Cammie was just about the sweetest girl Abbie had ever met. She had a very bubbly and outgoing personality, but was very intelligent and sensitive. Abbie and Vern walked home after hanging with the group with huge smiles on their faces.

"Abbie?" Vern asked.

"Yes?"

"How did we get such good friends so quickly?"

"I dunno," Abbie answered, but particularly didn't care about how she found them, "We are just so lucky to-"

"Hey, whose car is that?" Vern questioned, pointing to a black Ford '52 in their driveway.

"It must just be……oh my god," Abbie's body seemed cold at what she saw, "Vern, over here!"

Abbie grabbed a hold of the sleeve of Vern's t-shirt and pulled him behind one of the rose bush that her aunt was growing. The two crouched down and peered through the bush. Coming down the stairs of the porch was Ace Merrill, followed closely by Eyeball Chambers and Fuzzy Bracowitz.

"Damn, neither of them are here," Eyeball grumbled. He clearly sounded infuriated.

"I know! We drove halfway across town for absolutely nothing!" Fuzzy complained.

"Will you two just shut the fuck up?" Ace asked, but obviously meant it as an order, "So what if Billy isn't here? He's just probably getting laid or with Vince and Charlie. Probably both," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, but what about that Tessio girl?" Eyeball questioned impatiently.

Ace gave a small sigh. "Probably out with your little fuck for a brother," He actually sounded a little angry himself, "I swear that if you don't wring his neck soon Eyeball, then I'm gonna do it."

"Well, uhh….I dunno, man. I never see him around anymore," Eyeball tried to say casually, but it obviously was a downright lie.

"Then we're just gonna have to search for him, won't we?" Ace said in a mock sickly sweet voice.

The other two nodded their heads.

"Well, let's get moving!" Ace barked, and soon all three of them were in the black Ford and they sped away.

Vern seemed paralyzed, but Abbie grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Oh man, they were looking for me!" Abbie whispered worriedly, "And now they are looking for Chris! What are we going to do?"

Vern answered by pulling Abbie up with him and running straight inside the house, and locking all of the doors while Abbie stood, dumb-founded, in the main hallway. Vern came galloping to her side and stopped right on a dime.

"Think we're safe?" Abbie asked sarcastically.

Vern's eyes widened. He immediately raced down the stairs and no later than 30 seconds was back with two baseball bats in his hands.

"Very good, Vern, very good," Abbie kept her sarcastic mood, "Now all of us will be safe."

"Yeah, yeah. I did good," Vern panted with a smile.

"Yep. You did so well in protecting yourself, THAT YOU FORGOT ABOUT CHRIS!" Abbie yelled.

"I'm…I'm sorry!" Vern wailed.

"Yeah, you're gonna be sorry when the next time you see Chris he'll have two black eyes, a few broken bones, and a neck brace!" Abbie exclaimed, "I'm calling Gordie." And with that, she rushed into the kitchen, grabbed the only phone in the house, and dialed Gordie's number. Thankfully, it was him who answered.

"Hello?" Gordie's voice came out innocently.

"Gordie!"

"Abbie, what's wrong?" Gordie asked immediately.

"Ace and Eyeball and some other guy were at my house, they were looking for me, but now they are looking for Chris!" Abbie explained in a hurry, "Where is he?"

Gordie's voice was silent.

"Well?" Abbie asked impatiently but anxiously.

"He just left my house 5 minutes ago," Gordie said with what sounded like disbelieving in his voice, "They might have him by now if they came from your house."

"OH SHIT!" Abbie cursed angrily through the phone, "Why doesn't anybody call the god damn police around here, just like you should have done when Ace threatened to kill you guys before!"

"Like we should have done when Ace WHAT?" Gordie demanded with pure fury in his tone.

"It doesn't matter, just, we've got to get to Chris!" Abbie yelled.

"I'll go get him, you stay in the house."

"Gordie-"

"I don't want you getting hurt, Abbie. Stay in the fucking house!" Gordie shouted and then hung up.

"Gordie?" Abbie questioned fearfully, "Hello? Gordie? DAMNIT!"

Abbie turned around without hanging up the phone and raced out of the house with Vern staring after her. Her feet pounded on the cement of the sidewalk loudly, and her eyes searched the street for any signs of Gordie, Chris, or one of the Cobras. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. It felt like she had wandered around in an endless circle. Soon, she caught sight of someone running towards her. But she noticed it was two people. She began to panic, it had to be Ace and Eyeball. But no, it was Chris and Gordie! The two of them ran up to her, grabbed her by the sleeves of her shirt and dragged her down the road. They kept galloping for what seemed like hours until they pulled her behind a house and into some bushes.

"Oh man, oh man…." Gordie panted.

"Jesus Christ!" Chris wheezed.

"You guys, what happened?" Abbie asked, out of breath.

"I came along when Ace and Eyeball were about to get Chris, although he was running pretty well. I just got a hold of him and we ran like bats of hell," Gordie explained.

"Yeah, until Ace grabbed me," Chris said gravely.

"Are you ok?" Abbie questioned worriedly.

"Yeah, just a few scrapes. But then Gordie reached out and bit him, so he let go of me and we kept running," Chris said with a small smile and Gordie.

"Wow Gordo, you must have a nice pair of dentures."

"Sure do," Gordie replied in a low tone.

Suddenly, there was a loud rustle ahead of them, and Chris and Gordie jumped. Abbie gave a small gasp and reached down and grasped Chris' hand tightly.

"They're around here somewhere, I can feel it!" they heard Ace exclaim.

"Ace, c'mon man, they aren't anywhere near here," Eyeball's voice tried to persuade.

"They are. I know it," Ace said firmly.

"We searched around the whole damn house, and did you see those little shits? No," Fuzzy replied in an almost sardonic tone.

"You watch that fat, mother-fucking trap of yours' Fuzzy, or am I going to have to seal it shut for you?"

"Ace, they aren't here. C'mon man, don't get so into it. We'll get them next time," Eyeball said.

Ace didn't say anything, but he walked closer and closer to the bushes. The three friends held their breath as Ace stood right by them. Everything was silent for what seemed like days until Ace said, "Alright. Let's get out of this dump!"

Chris, Gordie, and Abbie stayed quiet for a few more minutes, but then let out huge sighs of relief.

"Oh man, that was so fucking close," Gordie whispered.

"Oh my god, I thought Ace would have found us for sure!" Abbie responded.

"Yeah," Chris agreed, sounding distracted.

He was looking down at his own hand, which was turning purple from Abbie's own hand grasping it in a vice grip. She looked down too, and immediately snatched her hand away and gave him a look.

"Well," Gordie said with a slight cough, "Let's go home."

The two boys walked Abbie home, bid her goodnight, and then went to Gordie's house, not wanting Chris to have a run in with Eyeball at home. Vern was waiting for her at the door.

"What happened?" He exclaimed, "Are you ok? What about Chris? Didn't you say you called Gordie?"

"We ran from them and got away, I'm fine, so is Chris, and yes, I called Gordie," Abbie answered simply.

"Oh. Ok," Vern sighed.

"God, it was scary though. Lord I have to go to bed….." Abbie said, drowsiness suddenly coming over on her, "G'night."

She trudged up the stairs, fell onto her bed, and instantly fell asleep.

A/N: Sorry for all of my real-life characters who weren't really too much in the story! You guys will so be in the next chapter a lot, I guarantee it! I really hope you liked this one!


	6. Lunch with Chris

A/N: So sorry I wasn't here for awhile! School has started and….ugh. Well, I knew that I had to get this chapter out. I just had to. Because it's fun! I got this out just for Emma. Yay! Hope you enjoy! Oh, and I mentioned before that Abbie was going to be all angsty later on, but I changed my mind. So, expect the nice fluffy fun stuff with twists in the story! This takes place a week after the last chapter did

"THANK HOLY GOD IT'S SATURDAY!" Emma screamed, falling to her knees in the grass.

"Holy God? Isn't that really….well, redundant?" Abbie asked.

"Just shut up for once, bookworm. IT'S SATURDAY!" Teddy exclaimed, mimicking Emma.

"It only works when I fall into the grass, you wet end," Emma said arrogantly, smirking down at Teddy.

"It's amazing how those two are so much alike, but Emma hates him," Shawn whispered to Gordie.

"You're telling me!" he replied.

The whole gang had decided to take a walk, and they had found themselves a field. The week had been rough on them all, especially Chris and Vern, because of all of the work for Chris, and Vern just wasn't the brightest in the bunch. Catie reached down and held out her hand for Teddy to take. He instantly grabbed it and she pulled him up, then he laid a kiss on her hand.

"Thank you, mademoiselle," Teddy praised, almost actually pulling off the foe French accent. Catie laughed, and Emma narrowed her eyes at her. There was still tension between the two…….they mostly avoided each other when they could.

"God, it is so damn hot out here!" Cammie exclaimed, fanning herself.

"We _need _to cool off," Abbie agreed.

"Hey! There's a lake by the tree house! Water will cool us off!" Vern said excitedly.

The whole group turned to look at him.

"Wha…what? What is it?" Vern asked after he looked at the expressions on everyone's faces.

"Just taking more notice to your incredible stupidity is all," Emma said, causing everyone to laugh.

"And I'm taking more notice to how beautiful you are," Teddy stated.

"Not now, Teddy," Emma replied, annoyed.

"Yeah Teddy, save it for the honeymoon!" Chris teased, earning him a slap on the arm from Emma.

"So, swimming in the lake it is? In two hours?" Cammie asked.

The whole group let out cheers of agreement and started running off in different directions.

"Hey, Abbie!" Gordie called just as she was turning around to run.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering…..you know that we have a test on Monday, right? Well, do you want to come over and study at my house tomorrow? With Chris and me?" Gordie questioned.

"Sure!" Abbie exclaimed.

Gordie smiled and said, "Boss!"

The two stared at each other for a moment, but then set off in opposite directions.

"Abbie!"

"Ugh, what now, Gordie?"

"Uhh…..it's Chris."

Abbie swung back around and saw Chris smiling at her.

"If it's about tomorrow, I'm already coming. Alright, now I'm off!" Abbie yelled.

"Wait!" Chris exclaimed, grabbing her arm, "I was wondering that since we have two hours……do you want to get something to eat at The Blue Point with me?"

"Oh sure…..tell the others we'll meet them there," Abbie ordered.

"No."

Abbie looked at him with a strange expression. "No? What do you mean, no?"

"I meant just us two!" Chris answered in a frustrated tone.

Abbie's mood changed dramatically. "Oh! Umm…..that sounds great!"

Chris gave her a smile and held out his arm, "Shall we?"

"Yes, we shall," she replied, giving him an identical smile and taking his arm, "Lead the way, good knight."

"Of course, fair maiden."

Not a very long walk at all, the two soon came up to a nice-sized restaurant. Chris reached out and pulled the glass door open for her.

"Thanks."

"No problem," he replied, following her to a booth.

They sat opposite each other and a waitress with a yellow dress and thick pink glasses strolled over.

"What would you like?"

"Uhh…..a coke and a cheeseburger," Chris told her.

"I would like…..an order of fries, a cheeseburger, some chips on the side, and…..a diet coke," Abbie said as she handed the waitress her and Chris' menus.

As the waitress turned around and walked away, Chris cocked an eyebrow at Abbie.

Sensing his gaze, she looked up.

"What? I'm hungry!" she cried.

He gave her a genuine smile and looked out the window. The two remained silent and received their drinks a few minutes later.

"You know, I'm glad you came to Castle Rock," Chris said casually.

"You are?" Abbie asked, amazed.

"Yeah! Me and Gordie and Teddy and the others…..we're all really happy you came."

"I'm glad I came too," Abbie told him.

"Why?" he asked.

Abbie took a sip of her coke and gazed at him. She was curious as to why he asked.

"Well, I'm happy I came because I made such good friends, friends that I wouldn't have found anywhere else," Abbie said thoughtfully.

"Like who?" Chris questioned.

"You know who! Gordie, Cammie, Emma, Teddy, Shawn….."

"And me?" he asked with a smirk.

She flashed him a wide smile and replied, "Yes. You too."

Suddenly, a song came on from the jukebox: Yakety Yak.

"Oh my god, I love this song!" Abbie exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's really boss," Chris agreed, leaning over the table towards her, "I didn't think most girls liked this song."

"Are you kidding?" Abbie asked incredulously, leaning over too, "This song is the best! Well, besides Lollipop. But I do love it……….._Just finish cleanin' up your room, Let's see that dust fly with that broom!_"

"_Get all that garbage out of sight_... _or you don't go out Friday night!_" Chris crooned with a surprisingly talented voice.

"_Yakety Yak_..._don't talk back!_" they both sang together, going down extremely low on the last part, causing them to burst into laughter. The other people in the restaurant gave them funny and annoyed looks. The two looked at them, then at each other, and then started laughing even harder. Abbie looked down at the table and started twirling her straw around in her cup. She was having a really good time. She was surprised she was; she hadn't hung out with just one of the guys before this. Who knew Chris could sing? This thought caused her to giggle and she looked up, finding herself close to Chris. Dangerously close. They were both leaning across the table, meeting halfway. Abbie could see the tints of light green in his sparkling blue eyes, and could count freckles that you wouldn't normally see on his face. They stared at each other, wondering what was happening and how it got like this. The only difference was that one of them was beginning to like this very much, but the other wasn't too sure. But they both leaned in a little bit more anyway, their noses just barely touching. But the feel of the soft tip of the end of his nose shot Abbie out of it. She instantly pushed herself backwards, flinging herself back into her side of the booth. Chris remained in his position, gazing at her with a confused expression.

"Umm…..uhh….aren't we supposed to be meeting up with the rest of the gang? I mean, they're expecting us, we don't wanna keep them waiting much longer!" Abbie exclaimed nervously, standing up and starting to walk away.

"Yeah, we don't wanna keep them waiting…." Chris replied weakly, giving her a cheery smile. As soon as she turned away from him, his smile flipped upside down. He hesitantly stood up and followed Abbie out of The Blue Point, pondering why she didn't let what would have been.


	7. Water Wars and Gordie

A/N: Hey! Just so you know, right now I am in a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, because if you haven't heard, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and a little of Alabama. The eye of the hurricane went right over where I live. So, I am able to get on the internet, but I don't know how long it will take me to update, that's why I gave you a pretty long chapter 7. Thanks for all the lovely reviews that flatter me to no end! Hope you enjoy, and don't kill me for the end!

"Finally, you two!" Catie exclaimed as Abbie and Chris ran up to them. All of them were waiting right on the grassy patch of land right next to the lake.

"You guys are such wet ends!" Teddy yelled, "We've been waiting for-"

"Five minutes," Chris said very coldly, causing everyone to turn to him.

"Whoa, sour puss," Emma stated, sounding surprised.

Chris' expression changed immediately from angry and frustrated to a look of realization.

"Oh, guys, I'm sorry, I was just thinking…." Chris trailed off.

"About what?" Teddy asked, being the intruder he always is.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just go swim," Shawn said.

Everyone gave him a smile and started to peel their clothes off to reveal bathing suits. Abbie and Chris stood frozen.

"Oh don't tell me you forgot your suits too!" Cammie complained, but with a grin.

"What were two doing anyway?" Gordie demanded with a look of suspicion on his face.

"We went out to eat at The Blue Point is all, Detective Lachance. Write us a ticket," Abbie teased.

"Well, you forgot your bathing suits. You know what that means……skinny dipping for you two!" Teddy yelled, followed by his laughter.

Emma flashed him a dirty look. "You are such a pervert."

Teddy looked over at her, and his eyes grew wide. "Oh Em Gem, you are looking more gorgeous than ever! Wear a bathing suit more often, pleeeeeease?"

"Eat shit, four eyes!" Emma retaliated with disgust, but it was true, she did look nice in her bikini.

"Anything for you, my love," Teddy replied, batting his eyelashes.

"You're going to make me throw up!" Vern exclaimed.

"Well, the bushes are that way," Shawn pointed.

"Oh forget it!" Abbie shouted, "We're swimming with our clothes on, DEAL WITH IT!" And with that, she pushed Gordie into the water.

"IT'S WAR!" Teddy screamed, and then made a trumpet noise. Everyone started moving in different directions, trying to see who would be the last person standing on dry land. Gordie stayed in the water, giving mock sour looks at everybody that he was the first one in. Abbie dodged her way around some of the others to Cammie. They started to spin around, trying to make the other back-facing the water. Cammie stepped right on the edge of the land, but with one last push, she fell right next to Gordie. Abbie let out an evil cackle and observed everyone else. Shawn and Chris were wrestling each other in the lake, making water fly everywhere. Teddy and Emma were doing the same thing that she and Cammie were doing, but soon, Teddy fell in, but Emma went with him and landed on top of him. Vern just ran around in circles, but ran too close to the edge and fell in, being so clumsy.

"YES!" Abbie yelled, punching a fist into the air, "I AM THE WINNER!"

Suddenly, she felt something being placed on her back, and before she knew it, she was in the water with the others. She turned to see Catie smirking down at her.

"Where were you? Where did you come from?" Abbie asked, totally confused.

"It's the ultimate secret to success with games like this, and the army: hide, and when the last person is standing, come out from your hiding place and attack," Catie explained.

"Ah, the element of surprise," Abbie said knowingly.

Catie nodded and then jumped in, causing a big splash. Everybody cheered and held her up out of the water, except for Teddy, who was being pulled back by Emma.

"Jesus girl, you want me _this _bad?" Teddy asked happily.

Emma grabbed both of his arms and turned him around. They stared at each other for a few seconds, but then Emma scowled.

"Who would ever want you?" she hissed.

"Anybody sane would," Teddy replied with a smirk.

She shook her head with a small smile. "Loony, loony, loony!"

Teddy's expression changed automatically. "What did you call me?"

Emma gave him a weird look. "What? Loony?" she asked, confused.

They both stayed silent for a few seconds. But then Teddy tackled her to the bottom of the lake, pushing her head under water.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH, I'M GONNA KILL YOU! YOU CALLED ME AND MY DAD LOONIES!" Teddy shouted, his voice cracking.

Shawn turned his head to see what was going on, and his eyes widened immensely.

"TEDDY, GET OFF OF HER!" he yelled.

But Teddy didn't listen, he kept pushing Emma deeper into the lake, and she was having a very difficult time keeping her head above water. Everyone looked to see what was happening, and they all rushed over. Chris and Shawn grabbed Teddy and after a few moments were able to pull him away. Cammie and Vern reached down and pulled Emma out of the lake. She gratefully gasped for air, and started coughing and spitting up water. Catie went over to land to see Emma, and Abbie swam over to Teddy. He was crying, his salty tears mixing with the clean lake water. Shawn held Teddy's glasses and was looking at him strangely, while Chris held Teddy.

"What happened man?" Chris asked.

"She….she…..she ranked me and my old man! She called us loonies! She……she thinks I'm crazy, she thinks my dad is crazy!" he exclaimed, and then started crying harder.

Chris nodded his head knowingly, then asked, "Why do you care what Emma thinks?"

"Because I _like_ her!"

Chris stared at him with an unreadable expression. "She didn't mean it, Teddy. She was just joking. She didn't know."

Teddy looked up at him. "Are you sure?"

Chris gave him a small smile. "Man, come talk to me," he persuaded and led Teddy a little ways away from everybody else. Abbie watched their backs as they spoke in low tones. Finally, they both came back, but Teddy retrieved his glasses from Shawn and the both of them kept moving on up towards the bank while Chris stayed.

"What the hell happened?" Abbie asked as soon as she made sure Teddy was out of earshot.

"Oh, you don't know about Teddy and his dad?" Chris asked stiffly, still a little sour towards her.

"No, I do….but why was he freaking out?" Abbie questioned, not aware of Chris' rigid tone.

"Well," Chris sighed, "Emma called him a loony. And….well, let's just say that someone called Teddy's dad a loony, and it turned out bad. He's sensitive to that word. Teddy thought Emma was saying him _and _his dad were loonies, and that she meant it. But of course she didn't, she doesn't know."

"Wow," Abbie breathed.

"Yeah."

"You…..you're a really a great friend."

Chris turned to her and smiled, "I guess."

The two looked over at the bank and saw Teddy kneeling in front of Emma, her wearing a genuine smile. Abbie touched Chris' arm.

"Don't guess. Just say yes."

"That rhymes," Chris chuckled.

"I'm a poet, and now I know it!" Abbie mock gasped.

Chris ruffled the top of her head, "You have problems."

Abbie smiled up at him, "Don't we all?"

"Oh. My. God. THEY'RE KISSING!"

Abbie and Chris whipped around and rushed up to the bank. When they got there, they found the rest of the gang in a wide and stunned circle around Emma and Teddy. The two were kissing heavily, tongues exploring foreign territory. Teddy was holding Emma close to him in a vice grip, grasping her shoulder and one side of her face. Emma was running her fingers through Teddy's caramel colored hair with one hand, and was gripping his neck in with the other. The whole group stared at them, astonished beyond belief. The two's making out carried for seconds, seconds that turned into a minute, a minute that turned into several minutes.

"Oh boy, look at 'em go!" Vern exclaimed animatedly.

"VERN!" the whole group shouted.

"Seriously, they've been at it for a long time…" Vern replied meekly.

"Their hormones are way out of control," Gordie stated with a smirk.

"Thank you Captain Obvious!" Cammie countered.

Emma finally broke away from Teddy and pushed him to the ground. She glared up at the rest of the gang.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are we bothering you?" Emma asked annoyed, but with a small smile.

"Yes, you are, as a matter of fact," Catie answered nonchalantly, studying her nails with a look of disgust and anger mixed on her face.

Emma glowered at her. "Alright then. C'mon, Teddy," she ordered, pulling him up. Emma and Teddy disappeared behind a tree, Emma with a triumphant smirk, and Teddy with a look that concluded that he was in heaven.

"So……" Shawn said after a few moments of silence.

"I think my eyes need a break, so I'm going home," Gordie told the gang and turned around.

"Hey Gordo, wait up!" Chris called.

Abbie had reached out her hand to stop Chris, wanting to talk about what happened earlier that day, but he shrugged her off and jogged up to Gordie. Soon, they both were out of sight.

"Umm….alright then. I guess we can call it a day, huh?" Cammie asked.

"Yeah," Shawn agreed.

Suddenly, Catie turned on the spot and walked away without a word, but with a cold look at them all.

"Jeez, what's wedged up _her _ass?" Abbie asked.

"Who knows? Cammie, I believe your house is out in my direction…..shall we?" Shawn asked, extending an arm out to her.

"We shall," she said with a smile, taking his arm.

"Well," Abbie sighed, "Let's go home, Verno."

"Yes! I want a shower, this water is kind of gross! And some Cherry Flavored Pez…" Vern said at random.

"Then, my dear cousin, let's get you your shower and your Cherry Flavored Pez!" Abbie exclaimed, and she and Vern started walking to their house.

As soon as the alarm clock hit 9:00 and went off, Abbie groaned. The sun shone into the room, casting an odd-looking reflection on her mirror. She sat up quickly, causing a dreadful and painful rush to come to her head. She went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and styled her hair into a half-ponytail. She got dressed in light blue jeans and a pink polo shirt and went downstairs. She speedily munched on a piece of toast, grabbed her backpack and stepped outside, on her way to Gordie's house to study. The whole town seemed so serene on a Sunday: barely any people on the street, people relaxing….it was just a genuinely quiet mood on Sundays. Abbie started to ponder about the whole situation with Emma and Teddy yesterday. What could have possibly altered Emma's feelings towards him? It was obvious that she hated him….was it all just purely physical tension? They really seemed to be going at it. Was it Emma's first kiss? If it was, it surely was a hot first kiss. She hadn't been kissed before. Why? Did nobody like her? She wasn't sure if she liked anybody. She was having mixed feelings about someone, but she couldn't decipher what it was. Soon, Abbie made it to Gordie's house and knocked on the door. She heard a quiet "Come in!", and she entered the house and found textbooks in every place she looked. Gordie was lying out on the sofa, holding a book in his hands and giving Abbie a shy smile, and Chris was laying stomach-down on the carpet, absorbed in a whole stack of written on loose-leaf paper.

"Well hello boys!" Abbie called.

"Hey Abbs," Gordie replied.

"Mhmmm…." Chris trailed off, studying the notes.

"Studying hard?" Abbie asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe!" Gordie exclaimed.

"Mhmmm…." Chris answered.

"Well then, don't let my presence stop you!" Abbie teased, moving Gordie's legs and sitting down on the sofa. Gordie immediately put his legs across her lap.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are my legs bothering you?" Gordie asked innocently.

"Nah, it's your feet that worry me," Abbie replied gravely, looking at his sock-covered feet in mock alertness.

"Mhmmm…."

"Well, Chris! Keep studying!"

"Mhmmm…."

Abbie looked over at Gordie. "Shall I get started to cram for this god awful test?"

"Mhmmm…." Gordie responded, already back to his book.

Abbie rolled her eyes, got a book out of her bag, and began to skim the contents. How interesting, The Declaration of Independence….well, it would be interesting to learn this if she hadn't learned it already. The first part of The Declaration of Independence is called The Preamble, blah blah blah and all that shit. She remembered it, this test would be a piece of delicious chocolate cake with an A+ on top. Then why did she decide to come? It didn't matter now, she was already here. She started thinking about kissing again, but more importantly, Teddy and Emma. Were they a couple now? They'd make a very great and very comical one. It wouldn't make sense if they weren't a couple after their….err….session. Who else in the group would evolve into a couple? Would this split friendships?

"Shit….it's 3:30 already?" Chris asked disbelievingly, "Whoa, time flies when you're studying for a god damn history test with your friends."

"I'll say!" Abbie exclaimed, searching the room for a clock to make sure the time was right.

"I have to go…..uh, duty calls," Chris said, standing up.

"The bathroom's that way," Abbie said, nodding her head.

"_Not like that!_ I have to go home!" Chris corrected with a frustrated tone. He gave a small wave and walked out the door.

Gordie sat up the minute the door shut. "He hasn't been acting like himself."

Abbie turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

"You know….not the same Christopher Chambers. I've never seen him like _that_. Cold, frustrated."

"Maybe it's because of all this studying," Abbie said thoughtfully, "The college courses must be hard on him, poor thing."

"Possibly…."

The two stared at each other.

"What happened yesterday?" Abbie asked, "With Emma and Teddy?"

"You were there. You saw. You heard. They kissed," Gordie answered lamely.

"Kissed…." Abbie trailed off.

Suddenly, before she knew what was happening, Gordie had his lips pressed against hers. And just as soon as they were there, they were off.

"Oh my god….Abbie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it! It's just me, and you were there and, well you just looked…..you were just-"

Abbie was too absorbed in her own thoughts to hear him. She was kissed by Gordie. Her first ever kiss was given to her by Gordon Lachance. Kissing was weird, but nice, she decided. His lips were interesting, smooth with an odd but somehow satisfying taste. Was she supposed to feel something when he kissed her? She didn't feel anything. She didn't know what to do.

"Abbs, Abbie, please forgive me, I really am sorry! You were just the most….and I was…and you were-"

"Gordie," Abbie said sharply, bringing him out of his façade, "it's alright."

"Whew, good," he sighed.

"It's more than alright," Abbie said with a smile.

"It _was_? Wow……….Abbie…..can I kiss you again?" Gordie asked softly.

"The pleasure would be all mine," she replied, leaning in close.

"I beg to differ," he countered, and then kissed her once more.

The two kept kissing, sometimes giving soft pecks, sometimes giving nice, solid kisses. But no matter what type of kiss, they both were enjoying it. Abbie took it back- kissing wasn't weird at all: it was complete and total bliss. Abbie thought she heard a door open and then slam, but she didn't care, and neither did Gordie. All they cared about was their moment together.


	8. Problems and a Helping Hand

A/N: OMG YOU GUYS! I'm sooooo sorry! I didn't have internet for a week! I moved from Birmingham to Lafayette, LA. And we are renting a house out until I can get back into mine and get it fixed up and stuff. But I've written 2 chapters! So, here is numero ocho!

**Chapter 8: Problems and a Helping Hand**

Abbie gave a deep sigh as Gordie gently eased his hand into hers. Gordie gave her an innocent smile, and she flashed him one back. Who knew that being Gordie Lachance's girlfriend would bring such good things, even for the first few hours? The two were walking to school on Monday, the day after they first kissed. The only problem was that nobody knew about them being an "item" yet, well, except for the person who had opened and then slammed the door in Gordie's house, but to be honest, who cared? They were together, and everybody would be overjoyed about it. Or so they both thought. The two came up to the steps of the school and stood there, waiting for the rest of the gang. Suddenly, Abbie felt a sharp tug on the collar of her shirt. She turned to see Cammie, glaring at her.

"C'mon," she mumbled, pulling her away from Gordie.

"What's going on?" Abbie asked.

"You and Gordie, that's what's going on!" Cammie burst out angrily.

"How….How do you know?" Abbie asked, panic in her voice. She wanted everybody to find out with her and Gordie telling everyone.

"Let's just say you ignored a certain door opening and slamming," Cammie replied coldly, "But you've _always _ignored that. Always that one thing. Nobody can believe that you can't see it….it's right in front of you! "

"What? What are you talking about? What's always right in front of me?"

"I'll let you figure it out, since you're so clever!"

Abbie sighed, "Cammie, why do me and Gordie going out bother you?"

"You know why!" Cammie exclaimed with fury, "I like him! But you just had to go and be his girlfriend! I was a good friend, wasn't I? I didn't do anything to you, did I?"

"No!" Abbie yelled hurriedly, "It just happened! You've been a great friend!"

"Then why do I feel so betrayed?" she asked more to herself than to Abbie.

"I didn't betray you, I promise!"

"What have you done together?" Cammie questioned.

"Nothing at all," Abbie answered.

"Liar," Cammie hissed.

"No! I'm not a liar! We did nothing!"

"The door slammer saw you kissing!"

"Who's the door slammer?" Abbie demanded.

"Somebody who would like to be called that when talking about this certain predicament."

"I need to know," Abbie told her.

"Well, I don't care," Cammie stated and then started walking away.

Abbie stared after her. "FINE! DON'T CARE! I DON'T NEED YOU!" Abbie screamed at her back. She sighed and then went back to the steps with Gordie.

"What happened?" he asked.

Abbie shook her head. She decided that their little fight would be kept a secret. The two turned to see Teddy and Shawn walking up the steps, and they both shot glares at them. Chris was following behind them, and he paused where Gordie and Abbie were. He gave her a sympathetic, almost apologetic look, but then continued on into the building. What was going on? Gordie and Abbie looked at each other and then went to their classroom. The classes passed by slower than ever, and Abbie couldn't stop thinking about Cammie, her and Gordie's relationship, and "the door slammer". Soon it was lunch, and she and Gordie sat down at their usual table. They noticed Cammie sitting at a table on the other side of the cafeteria, glaring daggers. Teddy, Emma, and Shawn glowered at them when they passed and sat down with Cammie. Vern didn't seem to know what was going on, but sat down at Cammie's table anyway. The two looked at each other. What was everybody's problem? Finally, Chris walked to the middle of the cafeteria and glanced back and forth between the two tables. After a few minutes of thinking, he gave a sigh and trudged over to Gordie and Abbie.

"Chris, what is everyone's problem?" Abbie asked the minute he sat down.

"I dunno, about what?" Chris questioned casually, sounding like he knew exactly what Abbie was talking about.

"Why is everyone ignoring us? Did we do something wrong?" Gordie asked.

"Well," Chris sighed, "Everyone knows about…you two. And it seems that they aren't happy about it."

"Yeah, we know that Einstein, but _why _aren't they happy about it? I thought me and Gordie going together would be a big hit with everybody!" Abbie exclaimed.

"And why aren't _you _angry at us?" Gordie demanded.

"Well….it doesn't really matter to me. You guys can do whatever you want," Chris explained in a pained voice that luckily for him no one detected, "It's your lives, not mine. I respect any decision you guys come to."

"You see, _there's _a good friend," Abbie muttered.

"Chris has always been a great friend, and he always will," Gordie stated proudly.

"Thanks," Chris said with a small smile, "I'll be here for you guys always."

"That's a nice thing to know," Abbie replied, "And I'll say the same for you. Oh, and by the way, do you know who the door slammer is?"

Chris almost choked on his food.

"What?"

"Do you know who the door slammer is?" Abbie repeated.

"Yeah," Chris sighed after a moment of hesitation, "But the door slammer doesn't want anybody to know who he or she is."

"Damn you," Abbie mock hissed.

"Yes, damn you," Gordie agreed.

"Yes, damn me," Chris teased.

After lunch, they went into their homeroom, which is where they took their history test. It was harder than Abbie thought it would be, but she thought she did well on it. During the test, she glanced over at Cammie, who was scribbling her answers furiously onto the paper. She then looked at Gordie, who was sitting beside her. He chewed his pencil eraser in consideration, looking thoughtful, and stared down at the test. Lastly she peeked over at Chris in the back, and felt crushed. He wasn't looking off into space pondering, and wasn't writing anything. His hands were holding his head, covering his eyes and pushing back his unruly dirty blonde hair. He suddenly raised his hand, and was excused to go to the bathroom. To Abbie, this didn't seem too convincing, so a few minutes later she too raised her hand and asked for a drink of water. She wandered the halls, looking for the boys' bathroom. She finally found it, and slipped in there. It was perfectly silent. Abbie slowly crept over to a stall, and tried to open it, but it was locked. She was just going to have to risk it.

"Chris?"

"Go away," a voice pleaded, "Just leave me alone."

"It's Abbie. C'mon, let me in," Abbie said.

"You shouldn't be in here. You shouldn't see me like this."

"When did that, and when will it, ever stop me?" Abbie asked.

She waited for a few seconds, but then the door flew wide open to reveal Chris sitting on the toilet, his elbows on his knees, which were supporting his head. Small tears dropped from his tan face to the disgusting floor, and he stared up at her.

"What do you want?" he asked rudely.

"Your answer as to what is wrong," Abbie replied, sitting on the tiled floor in front of him.

"I can't do it," Chris answered.

"What can't you do?" Abbie questioned.

"The test. The work. My family. My life," he explained, making him gasp for air, "It's just too much. I knew I couldn't do this, why didn't I listen to what everybody was telling me? I'm such a pussy. Nobody wants me around. I'm just a _Chambers'_ kid, I cause too much trouble. I'm just too damn bad….I'll probably be put in prison one of these days…. I'll never amount to anything. There's no use of me existing, I'm such a problem for everyone in this entire world!"

Abbie stared at him, amazed at the intense pain that Chris had. A teardrop rolled silently down her right cheek.

"Now you're going to cry because of me? Please….please don't cry," Chris pleaded gently, reaching over and wiping the lone tear off of her face with his thumb.

"You…..you've….you've got a lot of burden to carry on your shoulders," Abbie responded shakily, "But you can get passed it all."

"I can't. This……I just can't handle all of this," Chris answered.

"What! You think, that all of this is too much for you to handle? You? Christopher Chambers? You can do anything you want. Do you know what I think?"

Chris shook his head somberly.

"I think that you are the most amazing person I've ever met," Abbie said breathlessly. Chris' head shot up and he stared at her. Her eyes widened in realization. What was she saying?

"Umm…besides my boyfriend of course."

"Yeah, of course….." Chris trailed off.

"But the point Chris is that you can do anything you want. I know you can, and you should believe me. Nobody can stop you from doing anything except yourself. So please, don't give up. Do you know how much it'll hurt me to see you stand off to the side, to waste what good life you have inside of you?" Abbie asked, pleading in her voice.

Chris gazed at her amazed, and unsure of what to say.

"I've got an idea. It'll give you today to study for the test," Abbie told him, "I used to do this during serious tests."

Chris brightened. "Alright. Shoot!"

"Throw up," Abbie said simply.

"Throw up? Throw….throw up?" Chris asked, stunned, "You act like I can do it on command!"

"No, I don't expect that," Abbie laughed, "But you _fake _it. I'll be your witness."

"Umm….remember though, you're in a boys' bathroom."

"And your point?" Abbie asked.

"Well you'll get in trouble. I don't want you to get in trouble," Chris told her.

"Relax, I've got it all planned out."

"Thanks Abbs," Chris sighed.

Abbie smiled and was about to exit, but then turned around. "Abbs? Only Gordie calls me Abbs….."

"Yeah, well….I wanted to try it out for myself."

Abbie's smile grew wider. "You really are a great kid, Chambers. Now, stay in here."

Abbie left the boys' bathroom and jogged to the classroom. She opened the door quickly but quietly and went over to Simons.

"Mrs. Simons…."

"Ms. Tessio, we are in the middle of a test, and you _cannot _ask questions," Simons growled.

"No, Mrs. Simons, I had to pass the boys' bathroom to come back to class, and I heard….regurgitating sounds coming from in there. And I think its Chris Chambers," she added rapidly.

Simons stared at her for a moment before replying, "And what do you suppose I'm going to do about it?"

"Mrs.… Mrs. Simons, Chris Chambers was throwing up," Abbie gaped, "He needs to go home! He needs help! He needs to get better!"

"Oh alright…..you finish your test and I'll go," she responded, rolling her eyes.

"But I really think that I should-"

"Ms. Tessio- finish the test," Simons said dangerously and strolled through the door. Abbie gave her backside a cold look but then sat down and began working on the rest of the test. Soon the bell rang, and Abbie had all of her answers completed. Everyone left their tests where they were because Simons wasn't back yet. Abbie and Gordie exited the school together and decided to hang out, since they had no homework. They came up to Gordie's house and sat on the steps.

"So….Chris was puking his guts out, huh? I hope it wasn't because of nerves….he studied really hard for that test yesterday-"

"Gordie, Chris didn't really throw up," Abbie confessed, "He was upset. He…he didn't think he was worth anything and that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of life because everyone thought he was a bad kid. I lied to that old bat so he could have tonight to study."

"But how did you know he was upset?" Gordie questioned.

"The bathroom excusal didn't sound too convincing for me," Abbie answered with a smile, "So I followed him into the boys' bathroom and talked to him."

Gordie put an arm around her shoulder, "You really are a great friend."

"I guess…." Abbie replied, smiling inward at herself for repeating what she and Chris were talking about on Saturday.

"No, you really are," Gordie egged, breaking the chain, "You are fantastic! I'm glad you're my girlfriend."

"I just wish everybody else was as glad as you are," Abbie responded sadly, and was beginning to wonder if this included herself as well.


	9. Standing up and Advice

A/N: Hey guys! I've decided to give you an update! Although, I've been noticing that I'm starting to loose some reviewers I think. It makes me saaaaaad, because I really do have a great story to tell! Some people say they want angst, some people say I want the fluff. Well, I'm going to tell you that I've worked both into the story, except angst will have to wait for awhile to let everything get rolling (it's a long story by the way). So I just want everyone to hang in with me for angsty parts and for fun fluff stuff!

**Chapter 9: Standing up and Advice**

"I hope my test came out ok," Chris said casually, but Abbie, Gordie, and Emma could sense the nerves. It was Friday, four days after they had taken the test, and Chris had managed to gain two nights of studying with the throw-up gag.

"Hey Chambers, I'm sure you did fine!" Emma exclaimed, slapping him on the back. Emma was now hanging out with Abbie and Gordie again. She said that she didn't know what she was thinking and was being very, very immature. Something she didn't say often.

"Man, I can't believe that trick worked on the old hag. Amazing," Gordie said.

"Give all the credit to your girlfriend, Lachance. Without her, I'd have a huge, red F written all over the page," Chris responded.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!" Abbie yelled dramatically.

"Jesus, when are you going to stop with that Elvis impersonation?" Gordie asked.

"Never baby, never," Abbie replied, giving him a short kiss on the lips. She was feeling good and hopeful today.

"Yeah, well everyone knows I can do it the best, watch!" Emma claimed, "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" she screamed and then fell into the grass in the schoolyard.

"Yep, I give, you win," Abbie said with a smile, "Oh, and I cannot believe that you are considering dumping Teddy!"

"I need more out of life than _him_," Emma stated, tossing her hand into the air, "And I didn't say that I was _going to _break up with him. I'm just saying that I might _have _to when the time is right."

Emma separated from them and went to her classroom. She did take the college courses, but was in a different class. The other three went to their homeroom and sat down anxiously, waiting for Simons to hand back their tests. Gordie and Chris sat next to each other in the back and Abbie sat alone at the table in front of them. She wrung her hands together. She was worried if Chris' test would be a step up on the "Chris' Confidence" scale, or if it would make him lose faith in everything. Simons gave them all an evil smile, not a good sign, and started passing back their tests. The minute the paper landed on her desk, she scooped it up and looked at the top. A+. She let out a small sigh of relief and looked behind her. Chris was staring down at his test, his eyes and his expression blank. Gordie had his hand on his shoulder. Abbie turned all the way around in her chair, snatched the paper away and searched for the grade. It felt like her heart almost stopped. A D-? She began to read the answers that Chris put…………..it didn't make any sense. She grabbed her own test and compared the answers. It felt like her insides were on fire and her eyes were burning, she was so furious. She stood up, took both tests in her hand and marched over to Old Lady Simons' desk. Simons raised an eyebrow.

"You have a question about your test? You did very well, surprisingly," Simons questioned.

"No. But I do have a few questions on how great your teaching and grading skills are," Abbie hissed.

Simons stood up and the whole class had their eyes on the two of them.

"I gave you an A!" Simons exclaimed, "Now sit back down, and if you're not happy with your grade, I'll make it an F!"

"No. You do not grade fairly. Just because he comes from a "bad" family and has a "bad" reputation doesn't mean that _you _can give him an awful grade that he didn't deserve! And you know who I'm talking about," Abbie challenged.

"Ms. Tessio, you have Saturday detention! If you don't stop now, I'll give you another one!" Simons shouted, "You have no right to speak!"

"That's the _best _you can say to me? Chris and I have the same, not exact of course because he did not copy, but the same answers to the test. And I get an A+ and he gets a D-? Not possible," Abbie slammed down Chris's test on her desk, "The grade you gave him needs tweaking. Oh, and by the way, I do have the right to speak. I have the right to speak my full opinion on any subject that I can come up with. Oh, and what do you know? _That was on the test!_" Abbie defied in a scornful tone, causing the class to giggle nervously for fear of Abbie's fate.

Simons stared hard at Abbie, her eyes like a vulture swooping down on her prey.

"That's it. Two Saturday detentions," Simons whispered dangerously, "And, _Ms. Tessio_, just because you have an undeniable _crush_ on _Mr. Chambers_ doesn't give you any right to correct my grading skills on his performance in school!"

The whole class went silent. And so did Abbie. She felt her face grow warm and she closed her eyes. She turned right around and sat back down in her seat and buried her face in her hands. That did it. Simons won. She tried, but she lost. And now, people are going to think she liked Chris. Of course she didn't…….did she? No, no she couldn't possibly have feelings for she? Abbie was so absorbed in her thoughts about Chris that she ignored all of her classes and was only brought to attention when Emma grabbed her arm and pulled her around the building after school let out.

"I heard about what happened to you today in History," Emma said.

"Yeah……"

"And you know, you are fantastic. Nobody has ever stood up to the old bat like that before! I'm so proud of you!" Emma exclaimed, pretending to cry.

Abbie gave a small laugh.

"But you know, as much as I hate her…..she's right."

"WHAT?" Abbie demanded, staring at Emma with wide eyes.

"What she said. You do have a huge crush on Chris," Emma said and then saw Abbie's gape, "Hey, you might as well not deny it. I honestly think that you should break up with Gordie and go with Chris. He'd take you any day."

"You….You're giving me advice?"

"Advice that you will cherish for the rest of your fucking life!" Emma claimed.

"But you……hang on, how will this help me?" Abbie asked.

"Well, everybody won't be mad at you, so you'll get your friends back. And god, you'll be so much happier…." Emma trailed off, "Oh, and you didn't deny in class that you have a crush on Chris."

"I……I….." Abbie paused, and then it hit her. She didn't like Gordie in that way. Her friends didn't want them together. Her friends wanted her and Chris together. Because they knew that she had a crush on Chris. And she did. Her heart rate quickening when she saw him, her first impression on him, letting Ace and Eyeball take her to let Chris be safe, grabbing his hand when Ace was about to find them, almost kissing him at The Blue Point, helping him gain confidence, giving him the throw-up suggestion, standing up to Simons about his test grade just today……why did it taken her this long to figure it out? She really did have feelings for Chris. A lot of feelings. She suddenly pictured what it would be like, the two of them together. It sent pleasurable tingles through her body and made her want to scream with joy. How could she not have noticed her own feelings before? She liked Chris Chambers….and now was set on making him hers.

"Alright. I won't deny it. Chris Chambers is the one I'm now after," Abbie stated.

"Well, you won't be after him long," Emma remarked, "He would love to have you!"

"How do you know that?" Abbie demanded suspiciously.

"It was just a wild guess," Emma said with a shrug, "But it's also based on his personality."

"Oh my god….how am I going to break up with Gordie?" Abbie asked, guilt consuming her.

"Pssh, how am I supposed to know? With your heart, it should be easy," Emma taunted.

"Haha, very funny. You're the one who hid her true feelings behind negative ones!"

"And you're the one who is too stupid with relationships and feelings to know what she wants! And I might not even _like _Teddy, but I'm just going out with him," she retorted, "Now go break up with Gordie, and get with Chris!"

"Alright," Abbie sighed, "Where's Gordie?"

"My guess is that he's at his house….hopefully he's not anywhere with Chris."

"Ok. Then I'm off to see if your advice is worth taking!" Abbie exclaimed and then turned around and jogged down the sidewalk to break someone's heart and to cure another.


	10. Hard to Say Important Things: Act 1

A/N: Hey guys! I'd just like to put in that I'm changing the characters' ages from 14 to 16. I know, doesn't seem like too much of a difference, but trust me. For what comes later, you'll be glad they're 16! Hope you enjoy it, this one goes out to Emma!

Disclaimer: I do not own the plot and characters of Stand By Me and The Body. They belong to the geniuses Rob Reiner, Andrew Schienman, Ray Gideon, Bob Evans, and of course, Stephen King, and Columbia Pictures. But I do own Abbie and this plot. So, it counts for something, right? Right? Oh, and this song is from Avenue Q, and the song that was in chapter 6 is by The Coasters.

"…**..but it's not his fault, it's his glands."-Gordie**

"**Oh, my cousin's like that! Sincerely! She weighs close to three hundred pounds! Supposed to be a hyboid gland or something. I don't know anything about a hyboid gland, but what a blimp, no shit! She looks like a Thanksgiving turkey! And you know this one time-"**

"**Will you shut up Vern?"-Chris**

**Chapter 10: Hard to Say Important Things: Act 1**

"G-Gordie?"

Gordie Lachance turned his whole body around from where it was sitting on his porch. A small, shy smile came to his face.

"Hey Abbs," Gordie greeted.

Abbie sat down next to him on the porch step and took a deep breath.

"Are you ok?" Gordie asked in a voice that sounded as if he thought Abbie was acting strangely.

"No," Abbie answered, her face now buried in her hands.

"Well, what's up? Anything I can help you with?"

"Gordie…."

Abbie lifted her head out of her hands and put a comforting hand on his arm.

"This is really hard to say, I mean, you've been so good to me. Certainly one of my best friends ever. And," Abbie sighed, "I think we go better as friends, you know? Like, umm, oh I don't know! I think we'll just get along better-"

"Ok," Gordie whispered in a pained voice, "We didn't fight or anything, I don't see why…"

Abbie took both of her hands and brushed back the hair on her head, looking in front of her. Guilt beginning to eat away at her insides, she felt she couldn't look Gordie in the eye. Why did these stupid things have to be so hard?

"Do you want the honest truth?" Abbie questioned finally.

"The truth is supposed to be honest, so yeah, I guess," Gordie returned in his hurt murmur.

"Ok," Abbie sighed, "……..I never really liked you in the way you thought I did. There's…..someone else out there for me, I guess you could say."

Gordie turned to face her, looking quite flustered now. "You mean you've cheated on me?"

"No! I like you too much to cheat on you! In the friend way, I mean," Abbie answered hurriedly.

"So, you just played me, right? If you didn't like me, why the hell did you go out with me for three weeks? And who is the other guy out there for you?" Gordie demanded furiously.

"Gordie, you are taking this the wrong way. I'm breaking up with you to _save _our friendship. Heck, to save all of our other friendships too. Don't you see?" Abbie replied firmly, "We are just really good friends. I went out with you so your feelings wouldn't get hurt. And I did _not _play you at all, my friend. As for the other guy….it really doesn't matter who he is."

"It matters to me! I need to know who beat me out in this game!" Gordie yelled, "And you just went out with me to not hurt my feelings? You're hurting my feelings now!"

"Gordie, it's not. a. game!" Abbie exclaimed, "I like someone else, ok? We were friends before, why can't we just go back to the way things were? And the last thing I would ever want to do is to hurt your feelings!"

"Well, you must have done a lot of things you didn't want to do then to get to the last one!"

"You know what? I'm sick of this!" Abbie shouted, "This behavior of yours right now is not what I would have expected from you, Gordon Lachance!"

"IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE DENNY'S BIRTHDAY!" Gordie shouted, "IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HIS FUCKING 22ND BIRTHDAY TODAY! IT'S FINE, WHATEVER, GO TO WHOEVER YOU LIKE, JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE RIGHT NOW!"

That was it- remorse had swallowed Abbie up. She was about to say something, but then she snapped her mouth shut. If Gordie wanted her to leave him alone, she would. She respected her friend's wishes. And if anybody was going to talk to Gordie about this, it definitely shouldn't be her. So, Abbie gave him a small wave, and then raced back to school. She needed more advice- and quick.

Abbie found Emma sitting in the auditorium of the school, sitting on a piano bench and playing random notes with her index finger, a bored expression on her face. Abbie sat down next to her without a greeting.

"So……are you locked in the '_Chambers_' of his heart? I bet it was '_Chris-topher_' than you thought! Haha, me and my stupid, useless puns!" Emma said cheerfully.

Abbie stayed silent.

"Whoa, did he say no! That little son of a-"

"No. I just broke up with Gordie though," Abbie informed, "Why do things have to be so fucking hard? He was so angry with me, he'll never be my friend again! Maybe I should just leave things the way they are. And now, I'm going to have to face Chris-"

"Oh, Abbie," Emma tutted, draping an arm around her friend's shoulder, "Let's compare, shall we? Ok, how many weeks have Teddy and I been going out?"

"Three."

"And how many times have we fought and broken up?"

"Three."

"And how many times have we made up?"

"Three," Abbie answered with a devilish smile, "But you've made _out_ with him more than three times."

"Quite true, quite true," Emma agreed with a smirk, "But you see? You _will _be friends with Gordie again. Don't worry your little head about it. And as for Chris, he _will _take you."

"But how can you and Teddy…..keep doing this? You both want to murder each other some days, and then you want to be permanently stuck to each other on the others. I mean, how does it work like that?" Abbie questioned.

Emma stared at her with an unreadable expression on her face. The two girls just sat their in silence. Just when Abbie was about to say something, Emma began to play the piano, and sing, to Abbie's surprise.

"_The more you love someone_  
_The more you want to kill him  
The more you love someone  
The more he makes you cry_

Though you try  
For making peace with him and loving  
That's why you love so strong,  
You'd like to make him die!

The more you love someone  
The more he makes you crazy  
The more you love someone,  
The more you're wishing him dead!

Sometimes you look at him  
And only see fat and lazy  
And wanting baseball bats  
For hitting him on his head!

Love...  
And hate.  
Are like two brothers...  
Who go on a date?

Where one goes,  
The other one follows  
You're inviting love,  
He also brings sorrows

The more you love someone,  
The more you want to kill him  
Loving and killing  
Fit like hand in glove!

So if there's someone  
You are wanting so  
To kill him...  
You go and find him,  
And you get him  
And you don't kill him  
'Cause chance is good...

He is your love."

Abbie's lips stretched into a grin. She got the message. She stood up and started to jog up to the exit doors from the auditorium but skidded to a stop. Leaning against one of the side walls was non-other than Teddy Duchamp himself. He gave Abbie a wink, and slapped her on the back. Then he started down towards Emma. Emma's brown eyes immediately widened and her face turned a pinkish color. He stopped right in front of her, his eyes dancing and a smirk on his face.

"I swear I am going to _kill _you," Emma whispered menacingly, her hands now clenching Teddy's t-shirt. He swooped down upon her and gave her a long, passion-filled kiss. When they broke apart, Emma's face held a dreamy expression.

"I love you too," Teddy responded with a both seriousness and taunting in his voice. Abbie immediately left and started trotting away from them and the school. Although it didn't seem possible, that was the weirdest thing she had ever seen and heard.

What Teddy did….that was so…..un-Teddy Duchamp like. She had always secretly thought that Teddy's feelings for Emma were purely physical, but maybe she was wrong. But she did get the message out of Emma's odd song: there are ups and downs to a relationship, in any kind of relationship. There are times when you want to strangle someone, and then times when you want to hug that same person. It was really strange how things worked out that way, but they just did. And you couldn't be afraid: no matter what happens, you have to keep going, do the best with it, and take chances. And Abbie was ready to take that chance the exact moment she saw a certain boy walking way ahead of her.

"Chris!" Abbie shouted to his back.

He turned and flashed her a smile, "Hey Abbie, what's going on?"

"Look," Abbie panted, catching up to him, "I have to tell you something important."

"Go right ahead," he coaxed.

"I….I feel like I can't," she confessed.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's just…..it's just really hard to say," Abbie informed him softly.

"If it's important, then you need to tell me. How can it be hard to say if it's so important?" Chris questioned more to himself than to her.

"I really, really don't know, except that it's hard for me to say," Abbie stated.

Chris stopped walking and faced her, "You can tell me anything. Just say it, like a normal thing. Pretend it isn't that important."

"Oh god, I can't do that. It's too important to pretend," Abbie responded.

Chris grabbed her shoulders and replied hesitantly, "If important things are hard to say, then….then how would things get done in the world? What could be so important that it's hard to say?"

"What I'm about to tell you," Abbie answered.

"Then just do it. I won't laugh, I won't joke about it; I won't do anything that you wouldn't want me to do. If it's important…too important to pretend that it's not, then I have to know," Chris said gently.

"Ilikeyou."

"What?" Chris asked flatly, an eyebrow raised.

Abbie took a deep breath and then sighed slowly, "I. like. you."

Chris stared at her for a long time. His mouth was slightly open, so you couldn't see his teeth. His blue-green eyes gazed at her with unreadable feeling, but with an intensity that made Abbie's heart rate quicken, and her body grew tense. He seemed frozen, unsure of how to reply to Abbie's statement. He finally took a long breath and shifted his position.

"You mean-"

"Yes."

He gave a deep sigh and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair.

"I….I thought….Gordie…"

"No," Abbie answered, "I don't like him in that way. He makes a wonderful friend. But….it's you that I like. It's you that I want."

"Why did you wait all this time to tell me?" he asked, sounding a little frustrated.

Abbie looked up at him. She didn't realize before that he was much taller than her, making her feel intimidated and meek.

"I didn't realize it until recently. I never….I never thought that I would have…umm…_romantic_ feelings for any of you boys. But you….you just amaze me every day with your whole… compassionate personality," Abbie answered, her voice quivering over agonizing nerves.

Chris stared at her. He suddenly pulled her into him so she fell into his chest, her eyes closed, and a smile on her face. He wrapped his arms around the middle of her back and squeezed her tight, his face mixing with her thick, light brown hair.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to say something like that?" Chris asked, but said it as a statement.

"You….You like me too?" Abbie gasped.

"You couldn't tell? God, I thought I was going to have to throw myself at you!" Chris replied exasperated.

"I feel so…."

"Stupid?" Chris interjected.

"Yeah, that's the word I was looking for," Abbie agreed and then the two laughed.

"But honestly, I wanted you to come to me, even though it's the other way around," Chris told her after a few moments of silence, "You said it was important. I'm glad you think that. But why was it so hard to say?"

"Because," Abbie sighed, "I was scared. Really scared. I didn't know how you would react to something like that."

"You can tell me anything, because, I told you before, I will always be here for you. And I should have known you were scared to say it….I should have just let you be," Chris responded.

"No," Abbie said sharply, "I'm more than happy that you got me to say it. It would be stuck inside me forever….and with you too."

"Yeah," Chris agreed, "…..You know what?"

"No telling," Abbie answered.

"I like…..I like you so much….that…that maybe I'd have killed myself if I had never gotten to say that to you," Chris replied.

Abbie smiled into his chest.

"And you know what?" Chris asked.

"No telling," Abbie repeated.

"I hope you'll be…. my one and only girl," Chris answered.

Abbie's smile widened about a mile.

"And you know what else?" Chris questioned.

"No telling," Abbie said once more.

"I….I….I really want to kiss you."

Abbie looked up at him with a smirk. They stared into each other's eyes, but then soon closed the small space between their lips in one swift movement. She could feel him smiling through the kiss, which was a different but better reaction than Gordie's blushing face. His lips were smooth and even, with no rough ridges anywhere. They tasted sweet and the flavor soared from her lips to exploding in her mouth, and it just made her crazy. And she thought Gordie's lips were satisfying! The mood they both kept with their kissing was perfect: gentle, yet passionate. Abbie didn't want any "rough-housing" with this, and that's why she kept her lips closed off when Chris softly pushed his tongue against them. He didn't seem to be upset by it at all, but continued to kiss her. But the most important and obvious thing was that when Chris had laid his lips upon hers, she felt something. Her heart seemed to grow in large amounts, and the butterflies in her stomach soared. It was a feeling that made her be on top of the world, a feeling that would make sure she was safe. It was a feeling that made her feel better than she had ever felt before. It was a feeling similar to one that someone would feel if they found gold. It was a feeling of purity. A feeling that made her whole. How could everything be this perfect? Soon they both broke apart in unison and gazed at each other, taking deep breaths.

"God….that was just a tiny plus for why you'll be a great girlfriend," Chris said breathlessly, and then ran his tongue over his lips with a smile.

"A tiny plus? What I gave you? God, your standards are high!" Abbie exclaimed.

"No, the biggest plus is your personality," Chris corrected, and then saw her mouth drop, "No, c'mon, you know I judge by personality rather than looks and….physical stuff."

"Well, I do too. It just so happened that the guy with the best personality had good looks," Abbie replied with a smirk.

"Same goes for me," Chris agreed and then draped his arm around one of Abbie's shoulders, "And besides, there aren't any downsides for being with you."

"You know……..I hope that me being your girlfriend will make you….will make you a "better" person to all the people in town so you won't have to worry about what everyone says about you," Abbie stated her thoughts, "Maybe they'll think having a girlfriend will do good for you." She looked up at him. Now he wasn't gazing at her with a heavenly look. He was staring out in front of him, out into the world. He seemed lost in heavy thoughts, his face nothing more than a vacant expression. She waited patiently for him to come out of his thoughts, and he soon turned to her.

"Oh Abbie…." Chris trailed off in an odd, plaintive tone. He pulled her into a hug, her face pushed into his chest, her eyes closed. But he kept his eyes open, again staring out into the world, wondering how this could change his life.


	11. Gordie's Spot Light and the Fight

**Chapter 11: Gordie's Spot Light and the Fight**

Abbie sat nervously in the large auditorium crammed with students, twisting her fake diamond ring Chris gave her as a sign of them going steady. Chris was on her left side, his arm draped over her shoulder, looking towards the stage. Gordie was on her other side, staring at the floor.

A few weeks had passed since Abbie and Chris had gotten together, and things couldn't be better. It was so rare that you would see them separated, lips and all. Abbie felt so comfortable with Chris, like she could do and say anything in front of him, and she felt protected with even the slightest touch of his hand. As for Chris, he had never felt greater. His heart seemed to soar whenever he saw her, and his problems of his reputation and school seemed to just float away. The two of them could tell there was a special connection between them. One could tell when the other was upset, one could almost feel the same pain the other was feeling….but it wasn't just that. Whenever their lips met, or even when they held hands, they felt some sort of pleasurable surge run through their bodies. They didn't know what the surge was, but it made them feel whole. They were each other's halves.

Gordie, on the other hand, was feeling almost as low as when his brother died. Once he found out that Chris was the one Abbie was talking about, his anger and frustration at her went away. But he was always found moping about, staring at the floor. He and Chris had sat down and discussed how and why the pain of Denny's death came back to him. With every one of their sessions, Gordie seemed to perk up a little, but still was seen with his doe-brown eyes glazed over. With encouragement from Chris, Gordie submitted one of his stories into the yearly writing competition at school, and was now waiting to see if his story did well.

The principal soon stepped forward towards the microphone, cleared his throat obnoxiously, and then spoke, "Good afternoon, students and teachers! We are having this assembly to announce the winner of this year's Young Adult Creative Writing Competition. At first we had 24 entries, but then went on to 12 and chose from there. All of the pieces were fantastic, but the winner had a captivating, almost mesmerizing way of writing. This student will go on to achieve great things. Now, I'm going to read an excerpt from the winner's story, an excerpt that we thought was most amazing……. 'Why does he feel that way about her? He just seems to sit and ponder where she is, what she does…..I sometimes find it sickening. Can't he afford to get another hobby? Whenever I tell him that he thinks about her too much, he has this expression that he wants to slug me, and that he's ready for me to give him a good punch. We both knew true love averted friendships, slashing through it like an axe murderer did to one of his helpless, screaming victims. In a way, it was exactly that, but in a more slow and painful technique. Our camaraderie was going to be broken apart, and my best friend will be lost. No more jokes, no more laughs at other kids, no more late-night talks, no more debates on whether Marilyn Monroe was prettier than Marilyn Mason, no more slaps on the back and "You're gonna leave this town and make a difference out there", no more of it all. There will only be that nagging feeling of dreadful loneliness that wasn't even there before eating away at your insides until there's nothing left. Why do feelings of the opposite sex get in the way of _everything_?'………….an excerpt from the winning story, I Wish We Could Leave. Congratulations, Gordon Lachance!"

Gordie sat frozen in his chair, eyes wide and his hands gripping the sides. Abbie gave him a small nudge and he stood up, shaking. He slowly made his way up the stairs of the stage, feeling that he would soon melt into a puddle, but nevertheless, an excited and happy puddle. By this time the audience applause was starting to die down, except for Chris, who was standing up and whistling deafeningly through his fingers. Gordie hesitantly took his tall, golden trophy from the principal and turned to face the crowd of students. With a small, innocent smile, he realized: Denny would be proud.

Everybody else had left the school campus, except for Chris and Abbie, who waited patiently outside for Gordie to emerge through the doors of the auditorium, since he had a talk with the judges of the contest. Well, Chris and Abbie weren't really waiting as much as they were paying each other attention.

Chris tasted the sweet tang of Abbie's lips and gave a shaky, but satisfied deep sigh. This had to be the best kiss yet.

"You git sto mooch bet-ter ah his," Abbie praised while the two still locked lips.

"Way fo his!" Chris replied slyly.

He gently pushed his tongue against her teeth, and for the first time, she let him in. His tongue immediately started its enjoyable journey through her mouth. It reached her molars and started to explore. Abbie gave a slightly muffled moan, which reverberated through her and Chris' mouths. This felt so great, it was almost too overwhelming. Abbie started to collapse into Chris' arms, and he held her tightly. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat. Chris and Abbie broke apart reluctantly and turned. Gordie was standing on the bottom step of the stairs, smiling awkwardly, but staring at them good-naturedly.

"Lordy, it's Gordie!" Abbie exclaimed playfully, trying to avoid any questions.

"Haha, funny," Gordie said sarcastically.

"Gordo," Chris started, weaning away from Abbie, "I'm proud of you man, I really am. That part the principal read was fantastic, and that was just one part! I bet the whole story is amazing! It was all you, Gordie, all you. I told you, man: you're gonna get out of this town and do something with your life. You've got it made."

The two best friends smiled at each other and then Chris placed his hand out, palm up.

"Give me some skin."

Gordie instantly put his palm on Chris' and then they reversed.

"What the hell?" Abbie asked with a smirk.

Chris gave her an identical smirk and walked back over to her after slapping Gordie on the back. He put his palm out, and then with the other hand grabbed Abbie's and placed it on top of his. Abbie moved her hand back and then flipped it over and Chris did the same thing. Then Chris grabbed her by the waist and dipped her. His smirk became more prominent and then he kissed her again. She kissed him back and was about to slip her tongue into his mouth this time when again, they heard someone clear their throat, although more timidly this time. Chris brought Abbie back to a standing position and she sighed with frustration.

"S-sorry."

Abbie turned swiftly, surprised.

"Vern? What are you doing here?"

"Abbie, you have to come see," Vern told her, his voice sounding urgent, "You've got to see, sincerely!"

He started taking off across the campus, and Abbie, Chris, and Gordie followed at his heels. They rounded the right side of the building to reveal Emma and Catie on the ground, fighting. Teddy stood off to one side, wearing a frown, but his eyes dancing with a glint that confirmed he was completely turned on. Emma was on top of Catie, slapping her face hard, and Catie had reached up and was now pulling Emma's hair.

"Girls, stop!" Chris called.

"Emma, get off of her!" Abbie ordered as she skidded to a halt in front of them.

Of course, Emma didn't listen. She punched Catie in the chest, disarming her. But then Catie regained her composure and kicked Emma in the stomach, causing her to fall back, wheezing. Catie jumped on her, and the two rolled on the ground, taking turns slamming each other's head against the grass. Chris leapt forward and grabbed Emma around the stomach and yanked her off of Catie. He pulled her back, with some difficulty. Catie started towards them, but then was held back by the combined strength of Teddy and Gordie.

"I hate you, you bitch!" Emma screamed at Catie.

"And you think I like you?" Catie replied incredulously.

"I swear, I'm gonna rip the hair off your head and use it to make a rope to strangle you!" Emma shouted.

"Oh, so clever and creative with your insults, aren't you? Mark my words," Catie responded in a low, menacing whisper, "I'll get you back for this. I swear on it," Catie then looked over her shoulder at Teddy, "You'll regret choosing that curly-haired whore over me," She then turned upon the rest of the group, "You'll see, all of you! I'll make you all pay!"

And with that, she broke away from Gordie and Teddy and took off running. Everyone stayed silent, until:

"She's lying. I'll kick her scrawny ass to hell and back!" Emma exclaimed, "Teddy is mine and everyone knows it!"

She gave Chris a small pat on the arm and then went over to Teddy.

"And what do you have to say about all of this?"

"I'm sorry I didn't get that bitch off of you sooner," Teddy apologized, "And I must say, you really had me going there."

Emma smirked and replied, "Wait for round two, and I'll have you practically _craving_ me!"

"I can hardly wait," Teddy responded, licking his lips with a grin.

"Hey, that's pretty gross!" Vern interjected in a childish tone.

"So's your face," Teddy retaliated smoothly and linked arms with Emma, "C'mon Em Gem, let's get out of here."

The couple strutted away, proud of their witty quotes and insults and what they were going to do together alone. Abbie gave Teddy's backside an odd look as he disappeared from view.

"Uhh…..Em Gem?"

"It rhymes, remember? You're a poet, and now you know it," Chris said tauntingly.

Abbie stared at him with a quizzical look on her face. "Wha…..?"

"Never mind," Chris chuckled.

"Why were they fighting?" Vern asked.

Everyone was silent.

"Vern………….Catie likes Teddy plus Emma likes Teddy plus Catie and Emma hate each other equals fist fight, learn something for once, would you?" Gordie answered, frustrated at Vern's stupidity.

"Wonder what Catie's gonna do," Chris said aloud.

"What does it matter?" Abbie replied, shrugging, "Catie can't do anything to us."


	12. Everything's Almost Perfect

A/N: Hey yall! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I've been really busy. Personally, I think this chapter sucks, but hopefully you guys will think different. Love yall, and please review!

**Chapter 12: Everything's Almost Perfect**

It was two days later since the incident between Emma and Catie, but nothing happened. In fact, the gang never even saw her after that, but they didn't care. Chris and Abbie had arrived early at school that day, and the whole entire place was deserted. So the two decided to sit down by an oak tree that towered over them. Well, soon Abbie's head was in Chris's lap, dozing. Chris gazed downwards at his girlfriend and studied her. _God, she is so beautiful,_ he thought. A stray piece of light brown hair fell into her face, and he immediately tucked it behind her ear. Then he started stroking one of her glowing cheeks with the back of his hand. Chris thought it astounding that he could be so in….well, he wasn't in _love_…..was he? _Love is such a complicated thing, something too messy, heart breaking, and a waste of time,_ he reflected, _there are more important things to concentrate on. But why do I always turn back to her? What's that surge I always feel when I see her? Is _that _love?_ Chris leaned his body harder against the tree, causing Abbie to emit a small whine. He smiled down at his own sleeping beauty and thought, _if I have to love anyone, it's gonna be her and only her. Love is important, but I just don't know..._

Suddenly, a car sped down the street, and came to a screeching halt right in front of the walkway to the school. Chris squinted in the early morning light and saw Catie get out of the passenger seat of the car, flipping her hair obnoxiously. She grabbed her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, shut the door, and started towards Chris with a triumphant smirk on her face. Another two door slams sounded, and Chris's eyes widened with shock and horror to see his older brother, Eyeball, and his best friend Ace Merrill following her. The three made a small circle around him.

"So…..what did I tell you?" Catie asked.

"You're going to get those two assholes to beat me up? Oh yes, very revengeful," Chris said sarcastically.

"Watch how you talk to my girlfriend Chambers, or you're gonna wake up in the hospital," Ace ordered.

"Your…..your girlfriend?" Chris asked unbelievably, "_Your girlfriend_?"

"Oh yes. And we are going to make your life and the lives of your friends a living hell," Ace informed, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Well, except for _your_ girlfriend," Eyeball notified, staring at the sleeping Abbie with a hungry expression, "She won't get hurt at _all_."

"You get your filthy hands away from her Rich," Chris snarled, "You lay one hand on her, and I'll kill you!"

"Oh, Chambers is trying to stand up for his pathetic girlfriend," Ace laughed, "Did Chambers fall in love?"

Chris stayed silent, glaring up at the three he saw as evil.

"I guess so!" Catie exclaimed, and she and Ace burst into laughter, but Eyeball stayed silent, glaring back at his brother.

"You know Chris," Eyeball started, "Aly is a very good-looking chick."

"It's Abbie, you Ace-fucker!" Chris said venomously, "You-"

Suddenly, Ace hit Chris around the head, of course because of the comment he had said. Abbie shot up and out of Chris's lap and stared up at Ace, Eyeball, and Catie. Chris held his head with one hand but when he noticed that Abbie had sat up, he instantly stretched out his other hand to her shoulder.

"Hey Abbie," Eyeball said seductively, followed by a low purr.

"Restrain the beast inside," Abbie laughed, "Put it away, and zip it up."

"Oh so you have a sense of humor…."

"GET AWAY!" Chris shouted, standing up, almost being as tall as Ace now, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Ace gazed back at him calmly, unfazed, and then blew smoke into his face.

"I don't see a problem with that," Ace bargained, "But it's now or later. And I'd prefer later myself. Let's go."

So Ace went about-face and started off towards his black ford, Catie following. Eyeball took one last look at Abbie, winked, gave Chris another fierce stare, and trailed behind the other two. Once all three of them disappeared from sight, Chris stumbled.

"Are you alright?" Abbie asked worriedly, extending an arm towards him.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Ace whacked me upside the head," Chris told her wearily, sitting down beside her. She pulled him to her, and he rested his head upon her shoulder and closed his eyes with a smile.

"What happened?" she questioned.

"Catie's going out with Ace," Chris informed angrily, "And Eyeball tried to hit on you."

"So I noticed," Abbie commented, amused, "But what is going out with Ace going to do?"

"Well, here come some people who may be able to answer your question," Chris suggested, pointing to three people making there way over to them. Of course, they were Gordie, Emma, and Teddy. They stopped right in front of Chris and Abbie. Gordie had a serious expression on his face, like he could tell something was wrong. Teddy, on the other hand, had a huge smirk on his face, but his eyes seemed to sparkle with enchantment, excitement, and happiness. Emma was giggling like the mad-woman she was and tried to hide her face.

"What's up?" Gordie asked sternly.

"Catie, she……..Teddy, why do you have a smirk that's as wide as your ego?" Chris questioned Teddy, annoyed.

"None of your business, Chambers," Teddy snapped, "And my ego ain't wide at all. Just because you're jealous of what I've got-"

"Teddy," Chris said with a worn out smile.

"And what are you giggling about, Em?" Abbie asked.

The moment the words had flown out of Abbie's mouth, Emma immediately stopped.

"I'm not giggling, who's giggling? It's not me who is giggling!" she answered quickly.

As Chris told the whole story to everyone, Abbie sent Emma a telepathic message to tell her what was up. Emma seemed to understand when she suddenly stood up and started dragging Abbie away from the group.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Chris asked.

"We're talking about something important!" Gordie insisted.

"It's a _girl _problem, boys. And I mean it is serious," Emma claimed.

"Oh. OH, OKAY!" Teddy realized.

Chris put on an expression of disgust, and Gordie blushed deeply. Boys….no matter how stupid, silly, immature, and gross they acted- you had to love them. Once Emma and Abbie were completely separated from the three guys, Emma told her something Abbie was not at all prepared for.

"I had sex with Teddy!"

Abbie stared at her, mouth ajar. Emma and Teddy did the big S? How could they? Was it a physical thing, or did they really mean it for love? Well, they were 16, they couldn't be in love!

"You're 16, you can't be in love," Abbie blurted her thoughts.

"No. I am in love with Theodore Duchamp. Crazy, fly over the moon, land among the stars love!" Emma exclaimed, "True love can happen at 16!"

"Well…." Abbie started out, not believing her, but then breaking into a wide grin, "I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!"

The girls joined hands and started jumping up and down. Abbie had never seen Emma like this. She was so much fuller of life, and that was really saying something. Her eyes dazzled with pure joy and ecstasy, and you could see it in those soft brown eyes- Emma was in love.

"Oh Abbie, it's such a great feeling!" Emma exclaimed, "Wait till you and Chris….god, that will really be something special!"

"Well….uhh….what does it…feel like?" Abbie asked timidly, ignoring the comment about her and Chris.

"I can't describe it, it's so good!" she answered, "I am just so in love with Teddy. Abbie, he's all I ever wanted. If the whole world was to die out today, and he and I were the only ones left, I'd have everything."

"That was beautiful!" Abbie gasped.

"Yeah, I spent a good while working on it," Emma said with a wink, "Now c'mon, let's get back to our men. We have a tough problem on our hands."

So the two marched back over and the boys stared at them.

"What's with the goofy grins?" Chris pondered.

"What's with the giant zit?" Abbie asked, pointing towards his head, "Oh no sorry, that's your head."

The whole gang broke into laughter, including Chris. Abbie wondered how on Earth they all could be so calm when Ace could just simply come over and shoot one of them. But it didn't really matter, because they would start to panic immediately after.

"What are we gonna do about Ace and Catie?" Gordie questioned, "This is bad, real bad."

"Well, we could kidnap Catie, tell Ace she left town, and then he'll go looking for her, and then she'll be back without her precious Ace and no way to contact him," Teddy suggested.

"Teddy Weddy Bear-"

This was cut off by Gordie, who started making gagging sounds.

"Yeah, Gordo, all you need to do is puke," Emma said sarcastically, "Gordie, the last thing is for you to go bulimic on us, and you're as skinny as it is!"

"Teddy Weddy Bear, that's a great idea," Emma continued, "but instead of letting her go, we kill her."

"I think," Chris proposed, "we could find a way for the two of them to split. There has to be some way."

"Oh I love it!" Abbie agreed, "Ace has a short temper, and so does Catie. They'll be easy to break apart!"

"But how?" Gordie asked.


	13. Vern's Escape and a Small Date

AN: Hey guys, sorry it's been awhile. I wanted to get this chapter out in honor of River Phoenix, as it is the 12 year anniversary of the day he died. Rest in peace and flow forever, I will always love you, no one will take your place! Sorry if I don't have any of the clothes that they wear later on right with the time-zone, and the first part of the chapter takes place on the same day as chapter 12. Oh, and about Chris's hair mention in this…it looks like Rio's hair in Running On Empty (look it up on Google so you can picture it!) I really hope you like it, and I love you River!

**Chapter 13: Vern's Escape and a Date to Remember**

Vern sat at the kitchen table, drumming his finger along the wooden surface. He was waiting for Abbie to come down. He had been waiting for a really long time, and he knew school was about to start. _I wonder if she's ok up there,_ he thought, _I guess I'll just leave without her, what could be happen?_

Soon he was strolling on the sidewalk, openly and loudly singing Surfin' Safari, by the Beach Boys, who were totally boss. Them and Bobby Rydell were the cool guys around, despite his cousin's undying love for Elvis, also known as "the King". _Elvis is alright, I guess, but he doesn't hold a tune to Bobby. _Vern started gazing at the flowers that were dying away- winter was almost upon Castle Rock. _That's a shame, the gardens were weren't bad this year, although Miss Evelyn's is never any good. Like I remember this one time... _

He froze. His breathing became heavy, and he felt his heart thumping away in his chest. It felt as if a pole-vaulter stuck his pole deep into his testicles and sprang out of his mouth. Oh shit, was he in major trouble……

Heading towards him was his older brother Billy Tessio, followed by Charlie Hogan and Vince Desjardins. None of them looked very pleased to see him. Their faces were twisted into expressions of rage. Billy's and Vince's fists were clenched tightly, but Charlie was holding a baseball bat. Charlie always hated him the most.

"Well Billy, we finally found your shit-ass brother," Vince concluded with a worn-out tone.

"Fuck we found him, and now he's gonna get it. Bad," Charlie smiled, showing off his gross, disfigured teeth.

"Wha…wha….what did I do?" Vern asked, alarmed, beatings in the past and ones to come flashing before him, "I didn't do shit, Billy, you know that. Please, please don't hurt me!"

Vern brought up his hands in front of them as a sign of surrender. Even though Vern was sixteen, and so were the others, The Cobras were still older, and a hell of a lot stronger in terms of physical strength.

"Shit Vern you know what you did!" Billy accused, "You got Abbie to go out with that fucked up Chambers kid!"

Vern's eyes widened with terror as he pleaded, "Please don't hurt me, I didn't do anything! Abbie and Chris wanted to get together themselves; I didn't have a thing to do with it!"

"Vern, you little sonofawhore!" Charlie exclaimed, "You knew exactly what you was doin'! Come on, you knew that Eyeball wanted Abbie, and didn't want her to go out with his _fucking retarded brother!_"

Vern opened his mouth, but then snapped it shut. Wait….Eyeball wanted to go out with Abbie? So his best friend's older brother wanted to go out with his cousin? But…why would he want to? He didn't really know anything, but Vern had a feeling that he should tell his cousin. And that he needed to get out of this situation.

Vern stared at Charlie. Charlie stared at Vern. Billy stared at the both of them. Vince stared at a girl on the other side of the street. Vern took a step back…..and then another…..and another…..and another. He turned around, in a way to him that felt like one of those old slow motion frames, and then took off towards school. He could feel the three older boys behind him, his and their feet pounding on the cement. He didn't know if he had the running capacity to make it to school. Suddenly, he saw it: it was right there in front of him, and he saw five familiar faces…..

This seemed to give him an adrenaline rush, and he sprinted faster and faster until he reached his friends. Vern gave a small cry of relief as he slammed into Gordie, and the whole gang gave him strange looks.

"Fat-ass fucker!" Billy roared as he and his friends stomped over towards the gang.

Vern immediately jumped behind Abbie's back, cowering. Abbie rolled her eyes. Coward. Billy's expression immediately changed when he saw his cousin. His face lessened some and his eyes got brighter. Although he would hate to admit it to anyone, he actually had a soft spot in his heart for Abbie. Abbie gave her older cousin a small smile, and then nodded to Vince, who grinned at her. Charlie was keeping himself occupied by gaping at Emma, and Teddy looked like he was ready for a rumble.

"Let's go, guys," Billy ordered.

After a few more moments of stares, looks, and awkward glances, the older boys set off into town.

"Vern, what just happened?" Emma asked as he jumped out from behind his cousin.

Vern ignored her, and instead latched himself onto Abbie.

"Abbie, Abbie," Vern wheezed, "Did you hear that-"

"Where have you been? We were really worried!"

"Yeah but just listen-"

"No you listen!"

"I've got to-"

"VERN!" the rest of the gang yelled.

Vern bent his head low, in the way a puppy dog would do if he was being punished.

"Vern, you pussy!" Teddy exclaimed, "Let Chris and everyone tell their fucking story!"

So, eventually, through a lot of explanation, Vern understood the whole story about Ace and Catie going out and what damage that could do to the gang- meaning that even someone could get murdered. Vern tried to speak up and inform the gang of his story, but they never listened to him. The one time when Vern had something important to say, they never listened.

A week had now passed, and things weren't going as they had planned. The gang had come up with many schemes to split Ace and Catie, but somehow they didn't work. From what Abbie saw, she actually thought Catie was falling for Ace. How is that possible? Well, they are both coldhearted people, maybe that's what they have in common! Of course, Ace was just in it for the physical aspect. The four boys knew that Ace was nothing but a lying, cheating, dangerous, hard-up pig. But like the third adjective, he was extremely hazardous.

The Cobras, of course under Ace's command, were always after the four best boys. Billy Tessio and Charlie Hogan loved to go for Vern, probably because he didn't put up a fight and was just fun to hear scream. Vince Desjardins and Fuzzy Bracowitz waited for Teddy to come around the fence behind the schoolyard after daily make-out sessions with Emma. Teddy was probably the only one in the gang who actually liked the fighting, what was better to a crazy, hormonal son of a soldier than to kiss his beautiful and beloved girlfriend and then try to beat up two older boys? The next day, the gang would try to find new ways to fix his glasses. For some reason that Abbie couldn't fathom, Ace Merrill had a thing for punching poor, skinny old Gordie until he was unconscious. But Gordie acted as courageous as possible when facing Ace. Abbie had no idea why Ace would go after Gordie, of all people. And of course, that meant that Eyeball was all over his little brother. Abbie knew Chris _could _fight and _could _do some damage, but he didn't _want _to. No, Chris wasn't going to fight back, if anything, he'd try to calm his brother down and make peace. But Eyeball wasn't up for that at all. Chris would come to school sporting ugly bruises all over his arms, legs, and torso, and some deep cuts zigzagging across his handsome face. But everyday Chris would come with that sunny smile of his.

Abbie stared into the mirror in her bathroom. She had to look absolutely perfect tonight. If she didn't….then it would be so embarrassing! She, Chris, Emma, and Teddy were going on a double date tonight. But she was a little nervous. Teddy was driving.

Abbie did a twirl in front of the mirror and then sighed. What else could she do? She was in a black, strapless dress with red netting lining the bottom, cut to her knee. She side-parted her dirty blonde hair, and felt like she was layered with eye makeup and lip gloss. Abbie gave herself an encouraging smile, called to Vern that she was leaving, and stepped outside. There was Teddy and Emma, seated in the front of Teddy's freakishly large truck that was a disturbing purple color.

"Climb in the back!" Teddy instructed.

After a few minutes of gathering up strength, Abbie heaved herself up and into the truck and slammed the door. Teddy and Emma swiveled around to face her.

"Oh my god! Don't you look sexy?" Emma complimented.

Teddy let out one of those clichéd, when-a-guy-sees-a-girl whistle. "Oh man," Teddy exclaimed, "Chris is gonna have a _wonderful _night!"

Then, he let out his trademark Teddy Duchamp laugh.

"I thought only witches laughed like that," Abbie remarked.

"He is a witch," Emma corrected, "A transsexual witch."

Teddy immediately stopped laughing, started to drive, and mumbled something that sounded like, "Girls" and "Estrogen" and "Sexy", causing Emma to give him a hard slap on the arm. Abbie shook her head with a smile. Those two would never change.

Soon the three of them were outside the Chambers home, which did not improve since the last time Abbie saw it. Teddy honked the horn, and Abbie thought she was going to fall out of her seat.

"Jesus Christ, you don't need to lay down the horn _that _much!" Abbie yelled, throwing her hands up to her head.

"Well, we've been waiting for ten minutes. I mean really, how much time does Mr. Chambers need to dress and go?"

"Ten minutes…already?" Abbie questioned, shocked.

She looked towards the house. There were lights on, but it seemed as if the whole area was silent, like no one was home.

"I'm going to go in," Abbie told her friends.

Suddenly, the three heard a huge crash come from the house. Teddy and Emma jumped, and Abbie kicked her car door open. She knew what could happen inside that house. But just as she was about to put a foot on the ground, Chris stumbled through the door and raced towards the truck. He almost jumped on Abbie, and this gave Teddy the signal to take off. The truck roared and burned some rubber from the tires as they sped down the road, but the main thing was that Chris was there.

"What happened?" Abbie demanded, putting a hand up to Chris's cheek.

"Nothing," Chris answered after a moment's silence, "My dad got angry about something, and started coming after me."

"Poor thing," Emma remarked from the front seat.

Abbie knew Chris didn't want to continue the conversation and have people feel sorry for him. He wasn't the type of person who really let out his deep, painful secrets about his family. They were locked away, inside his brain and his heart. The most important things are the hardest to say.

Teddy slowed the truck down and put it into park. The four of them climbed out and stared. They were on a hill, almost like a grassy mountain, that was overlooking Castle Rock. This area was known as Castle View, the outskirts of the town. No one ever came around Castle View, only if they were coming in and out of town. There were barely any lights on in Castle Rock, making the night sky and the stars brighter and easier to see.

"If we were only coming out here….then why did we dress up?" Emma questioned.

She was also in a dress, a sleek dark purple one with thin straps. Not only were the girls dressed up, but so were the guys. Teddy and Chris almost looked identical because they were wearing the same exact thing- smooth black suits, white button up shirts beneath them. Of course, Teddy had his black coke-bottle glasses to match. Chris was absolutely beautiful. With his dirty blonde hair now in floppy hair style, his ocean blue-green eyes stood out like two gems in the Sahara desert. And he always had this odd smile on his face; it was a sunny, sweet, playful grin that made everything else fade into nothing. Oh, and of course there was this one eyebrow that he raised, and for some reason it drove Abbie insane. She had never really realized until now how handsome Chris actually was.

Suddenly, music started playing. Abbie whipped around to see Chris standing by a portable radio that was place in the trunk. He stepped over towards her, stuck out his hand, gave her that smile, and asked, "Would you please honor me with this dance?"

Abbie grinned widely and they began to dance. It was funny, they actually stayed in the same place, but just swayed gently back and forth. He had one arm wrapped around her waist and his other hand was placed on her back. Abbie sighed deeply with pleasure. She had never felt this great in her life. She felt so protected, so enchanted, so _loved_…..oh, love. That word rang inside her head. Abbie knew that she could be in love with Chris. Who couldn't be in love with Chris? The way he made peace, the way he helps, the way he protects, the way he defeats his demons…..Chris Chambers was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Then why couldn't she just look up at Chris and say, "I love you"?

Abbie laid her head on Chris's shoulder, and he immediately rested his head on top of her's. She wanted to cry out in frustration over her feelings.

The rest of the night was an on-going battle of feelings. With every touch Chris made, she wanted to scream to the world that she was in love with him. But she just wasn't sure….she was sixteen, how can you be sure if you are in love at sixteen? Although the battle raged on in her head, they all had a great time.

Teddy had dropped her off on the side of the road in Castle Rock that was close to her house. Chris wanted to at least walk her home, but she refused for him to do so. She needed some alone time. Abbie sauntered along the sidewalk, acting like she was still dancing with Chris on the hill. It was definitely one of the best moments she had ever experienced. Just as she closed her eyes and Chris's striking face came to view, she felt something being whacked on the side of her head. She stumbled, but then soon fell into the arms of the unknown.


	14. The Unforgetful Event

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this took forever, November's been a crazy month. So glad to get to write some more. I really don't think this chapter is good, but hey, I try. If you're wondering why feelings aren't very in tact, it's because this is a chapter for action, and the next one will definitely express emotions and actions caused by them.

Disclaimer: No, Gordie Lachance is not mine. No, Teddy Duchamp is not mine. No, Vern Tessio is not mine, and neither is Ace and Eyeball. No, the plot and theme of Stand By Me is not mine. No, I'm not forgetting anyone. No, I'm not lying, honest! But, but…do I have to? Oh FINE, Chris Chambers is not mine either. There, are you happy? Yeah, you better be. mumbles in frustration

**WARNING, WARNING, WARNING! This chapter includes rape and other themes related to it.**

**Chapter 14: Are you Scared?**

Abbie's eyes began to flutter, but soon she felt an immense pain in her upper thighs that made her close her eyes.

"What's wrong baby? Can't take the pain side of it?"

This made her eyes flash open. She recognized that voice. It was one of her worst enemies she made since she came to Castle Rock. Abbie looked up and the first thing she saw was that weird, jittery, all-too-familiar twitchy eye. She backed away swiftly, ramming her head against the car door. Soon she figured out the seating arrangement. She and Eyeball were in the backseat of his car, and she was lying down with Eyeball on top of her. Suddenly, it felt like a weight was dropped into the pit of her stomach. EYEBALL WAS ON TOP OF HER!

Without a moment's hesitation, she slapped him hard across the face, the sound reverberating around them. Eyeball grabbed a hold of Abbie's arms and pushed his whole body weight onto her, making her want to scream.

"What are you doing to me!" Abbie wheezed from under him.

"Oh, the best part was already done," Eyeball answered with a smirk as big as Texas.

"What are you blabbing on about?" Abbie snapped.

"Girl…we did it good. Even when you are unconscious, the getting's pretty good."

Her heart stopped. Her brain stopped. Everything stopped. A freeze frame of alarm, surprise, and shock. She was….she got…

"YOU RAPED ME?" Abbie shouted, but her mouth was clamped by Eyeball's hand.

"Yes, you could call it that, you bitch," Eyeball said menacingly, "And you better tell me where Catie is."

"Catie? WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE CATIE IS, YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A GOOD TIME RAPING ME, WHY NOT FINISH IT?" Abbie yelled, immediately followed by second compress.

"Now you listen to me you filthy little whore: you tell me where Catie is and I let you go. You don't tell me, and I fuck you again. If you scream once I let go of your mouth, I fuck you again. Got it?" Eyeball threatened.

Abbie nodded fervently, and Eyeball released her mouth.

"HELP ME SOMEONE! HELP ME, HELP ME, EYEBALL CHA-"

Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Eyeball's hands had snaked their way around her neck, and he was squeezing her so tight that she thought her whole body would turn purple and blue in a matter of seconds.

"Alright slut, you asked for it. More pleasure for me, not so much for you," Eyeball said and grinned wickedly.

Abbie barely paid attention. She was too busy fighting his hands that were wrapped around her neck. Abruptly, his hands left her throat, and began to wander over her body. She couldn't help it, but tears of anguish and depression raced down her cheeks. Suddenly, someone leapt into the car, and tackled Eyeball to the front seat. Abbie recognized the person right away: Billy. She stared in awe as the two kicked and punched each other, but soon after she heard a sharp battle cry and she was pulled out of the car by her arm. This new person swept her up and carried her to a house, running as fast as they could. Soon they entered a bedroom and the person plopped Abbie down on the bed. The person bent down beside her and stared at her.

"Abbie?" Teddy asked.

Abbie was gazing down at her knees. She felt disgusting, that she shouldn't be around another human being. She was worthless scum, something that someone could push around and use as anything they wanted…

"I'm fine," Abbie answered, but after a moment's silence, the tears came.

"TEDDY, TEDDY! H-HE-"

"I know what that mother fucker did," Teddy replied bitterly as he sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around her, "You're fine now, you're safe."

"He's gonna c-come back and k-kill me!" she sobbed into his t-shirt.

"Not while I'm around, he won't," Teddy responded, "But we've got to go tell someone, this is bad, real bad…"

"NO!" Abbie screamed, "WE CAN'T TELL A LIVING SOUL! EYEBALL WILL GO TO JAIL!"

"That's the point though," Teddy argued, perplexed, "That creep will be locked away from you and everybody else."

"Do you know what that will do to Chris?" Abbie asked, but more as a statement, "His reputation will be worse than ever! Everyone will make the connection that if Frank and Eyeball Chambers raped a girl and went to jail, and then Chris would probably do the same! We'll have to be separated from each other, and that is the last thing I want to happen!"

She didn't know why she was feeling this way: thoughtful and anxious. She wasn't even really considering what had just happened to her, she wasn't letting the reality of being raped sink in and rear it's very, very ugly head. Somehow she seemed to be more concerned about the future of the others who were involved the moment it happened and the ones who dragged themselves into it: Chris, Eyeball, Teddy, Billy, Catie, Ace, Gordie, Emma, Vern….practically all of her friends and enemies. It was strange how things that happen to one person can affect everyone around them.

"So you mean that Chris will have absolutely no chance at a future if we tell?" Teddy questioned.

"Yes," Abbie answered, a little frustrated. Teddy could be so thick sometimes.

"Well….can we tell Chris? Gordie, maybe?"

"No," Abbie said firmly, "We cannot tell _anyone_. Especially Chris. Who knows what he'll try to do!"

"And what do you suppose we do about your older cousin?" Teddy asked.

"I bet he'll forget it ever happened," Abbie said thoughtfully, a touch of disappointment in her tone, "He's closer to Eyeball than he is to me."

"Wow…they're DATING? Who fucking knew?"

Abbie let out a small, winded "HA" and then, out of gratefulness, jumped on Teddy and engulfed him in a bone-crunching hug.

"Abbie, wha…?" Teddy asked frantically and awkwardly.

"Teddy, you are one of the best friends I could ever have!" Abbie exclaimed, "I don't know what I'd do without you! I'd still be in that car with Eyeball right now….Teddy, just know that I love you so much and that if you ever need me, I'm here!"

"So am I," Teddy replied solemnly.

She began to cry into his shirt, just glad that she had a friend that she could hug, and that, after tonight's events, she was able to hug.


	15. The Downfall of Abbie Tessio

A/N: OMG YOU GUYS! I am sooooo sorry for leaving yall hanging, right at a tense part too. Sorry to say that I do it in this chapter as well, but don't worry, my next chapter will be posted shortly, because Christmas holiday is quickly approaching (a little extended for me because of Hurricane Katrina). So anyway, I'm going to give you guys huge Christmas presents! WOOT! So give me some, with reviews and updates on YOUR stories! Anyway, sorry once again about school getting in the way of everything like always and here is your chapter 15. And don't worry about me…if you get a bad impression of me from my story…nothing is wrong. smiles now on with the story!

Disclaimer: Stand By Me should be mine, but it just isn't, so let's get over it and either read this story or watch the movie again.

**Chapter 15: The Downfall of Abbie Tessio**

Abbie Tessio was not who she used to be. At least to her it seemed like it. First, her physical appearance was something that she was surprised everyone hadn't taken notice to and told her about it. Her skin was almost that of a grayish tinge, there wasn't anymore glow to her casing. Her once beautiful green and brown eyes were now as dull as doorknobs, and her face was always set. But worst of all, was that she was inflicting damage on herself, but she didn't know it. Abbie had this deep feeling that she thought had gone away. It was this feeling of embarrassment, but then it got deeper into loneliness and seclusion, to the point where she always chose to be aloof. This was before she came to Castle Rock, and that feeling was triggered by everyone's reaction back at her real home in California to her colossal weight. Now, the feeling was back, and she knew the way to take care of it, and she was doing just that: throwing up after every meal.

She was so surprised though, that no one had said a word. Ever since the rape, she had thrown herself into isolation, not wanting to speak to anyone, not even wanting to really see anyone. Somehow, her whole gang got offbeat with her.

Much to her shock, Teddy had not said a single word about that night. Since then he had kept to himself most of the time, thinking that if he were around anyone, he would spill the beans. Of course, the only person he couldn't deny being around was Emma, and even though the two loved to talk, Emma noticed that there was definitely more making out between the couple.

Whenever Teddy was by himself instead of with her, Emma paraded around with Gordie, trying to find new ways to end Ace and Catie's relationship. The two were starting to become what Abbie liked to call "The Inquisitive Buddies", for if anyone was asking a question lately, it was those two. During lunch, they'd sit down together and blurt out at the same time, "Why are you looking so sick?" And during the times Emma was with Teddy, Gordie was nowhere to be seen, most likely writing in his room.

Vern on the other hand was, almost like always, completely oblivious to everything. He barely noticed a change in her, and when he did he'd say, "Hey….you know, you look awful." What a sweet cousin he was. Speaking of cousins, as Abbie predicted, Billy seemingly forgot about the whole thing and continued to chum around with Eyeball as if nothing ever happened. This disappointed her, but at least she wasn't surprised.

If surprising popped up anywhere in any of her relationships, it would definitely be her steady, lustful relationship with Chris. It seemed as if their going out was frozen, maybe from a different time frame. This was now "post-rape", and Chris was barely part of it. And it hurt her even worse than before. During school, Chris would pretend like nothing was wrong. He'd give her a kiss on the cheek, and then see her at lunch. That was all Chris did. Except….he stared. During lunch time, while Gordie, Emma, and Vern were chatting away, and Teddy being somewhat reluctant to join them, Chris would always gaze at Abbie for the entire period, wondering why she was eating so fast and why she looked like she was in so much pain. But he didn't want to ask, because somehow, he found it hard to do.

It was lunch time on a Friday, and Abbie couldn't have been more relieved. The weekend was finally here, and all she had to do was lock herself in her room and get away from everyone. That's all she _wanted_ to do. She began to wolf down some French fries, while Chris stared and everyone else talked. She then moved onto her hot dog, and devoured it in less than a minute. Her stomach began to cramp in pain, but she ignored it and moved onto her dessert. She grabbed another serving of French fries from Gordie's tray, a bag of potato chips from Vern's tray, and then gulped down a can of coke. Abbie then felt that oh-so-familiar, lurching feeling. She raced out of the cafeteria, into the girls' bathroom, into her own stall, and puked her guts out. She hated throwing up, she couldn't understand why she was doing this to herself again, just causing more agony. She was going to have to not run out of the cafeteria if she didn't want anyone catching her in the act.

When she was finished, Abbie splashed some cold water on her face from the sink. Suddenly, she heard something: retching. This made her have the need to do it again herself. But soon the retching of the other person in the bathroom stopped….and out walked Emma. It flashed into Abbie's mind: she had told the boys she had to go to the bathroom at the beginning of the lunch period.

"Hey, are you ok?" Emma asked Abbie with a worried tone, her eyes traveling up and down Abbie's body, taking in how much unhealthier she looked.

"I'm fine," Abbie responded thickly.

"You really don't look well. Actually, you haven't been looking well for the past two weeks. You must have caught a nasty virus."

"Yeah, must have," Abbie muttered.

"I think you should let the nurse check you out," Emma suggested.

"NO! I mean, no. I'm not that sick, trust me," Abbie tried to persuade. She knew that the nurse would take one look at her and know what was wrong.

"Fine, I'm just concerned," Emma said, defending herself.

"What's wrong with you? Why were you throwing up?"

Emma's face turned into a pinkish color…did she look embarrassed? Or was that nervousness?

"I'm sick too."

"Then go to the nurse."

"I don't want to."

"You apparently understand my situation then."

Emma tugged at her lip and admitted, "I guess so."

The two girls stared at each other, and then Abbie exited. What was wrong with Emma? Emma was a confident, beautiful, funny, and talented person who, even though lost her virginity, was still pure, because she lost it to the person she loved. Not Abbie though. No, Abbie didn't lose something that was once special to her. She was robbed of it by her boyfriend's older brother. She held back a few tears as she sat back down again, and she noticed everyone at the table had left. There was a note left on the book she had taken to lunch with her:

Abbie,

We need to talk. It's really important, and I think I can't wait any longer. You need to hear this. Come by my house tonight at 8:30. Don't worry, my parents and my two older brothers won't be there. My younger ones will be though, hope you don't mind. Please come.

Love,

Chris


	16. Hard to Say Important Things: Act 2

A/N: Hey guys! I know I promised I'd have this out on Monday, but I'm a busy girl. Also, you will probably see _why _it took me longer than I thought when you're reading it. Hopefully you'll like it, because I'm not sure if it's as good as I could make it. But it might be. So yeah. Anyway, Merry Christmas/Hanukah and enjoy your present!

Disclaimer: The more I write, the more I want…..

**WARNING, WARNING, WARNING: sexual content/suggestions of sexual interaction(maybe not with who you imagined!)**

**Chapter 16: Hard to Say Important Things: Act 2**

Abbie's stomach lurched as she walked along the pathway from the sidewalk to Chris's house. But it wasn't that usual retching type of lurch: her stomach lurched with nervousness. If Chris had anything important to say, he'd be able to say it to her immediately after obtaining the knowledge of it. This had to be something very important, more important than usual….and Abbie was a little frightened.

She knocked on the door. No answer. She then rang the doorbell. Again, no one came to the door. She turned the knob and discovered that it wasn't locked. She slipped in quietly and began to look around. There were no lights on, and it was pure silence. Was Chris not here? Suddenly, her eyes began to widen in panic. Had Chris's father come home early and something had happened to Chris? Abbie began to search the house in a hurried, worried frenzy, all the while wondering with a sinking heart if she'd bump into anyone, Eyeball in particular. But soon she heard two voices coming from a room in the hallway. She pushed open the door, and leaned against the doorway, listening and watching the two people.

"Chris, I don't wanna go to sleep! I wanna stay up with you!" exclaimed a tiny, blonde haired blue eyed girl looking around the age of six.

"Aww Debs, you're such a sweetheart," Chris told her, stroking her silky blonde hair, "But you have to get your rest, tomorrow is Saturday, and we are planning to do some fun stuff."

"Well…what about Emery and Sheldon?" the girl asked.

"They'll be going to bed right after you. The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner they'll go to sleep."

"Hey Chris, who's that?" the girl questioned, pointing at Abbie.

Chris turned around swiftly, but he relaxed once he saw who it was. He motioned for her to come to the bed, and she did so reluctantly.

"Is it Gordie?" the girl asked, sitting up.

"Deborah, this is Abbie. Abbie, this is Deborah-"

"Debbie," the girl corrected with a smirk on her face.

"My little sister," Chris told Abbie.

"What are you doing here?" Debbie asked rudely, staring at Abbie with dislike.

"Deborah! That was impolite! I thought you said that any friend of mine is a friend of yours!" Chris scolded.

"Well I didn't know that your friend would be a _girl_!" Deborah pouted.

"Oh Debs, go to bed already," Chris said playfully while he stood up and he and Abbie were about to exit.

"Chris?"

"Yes Debs?"

Debbie blinked at him. "I love you."

Chris's face broke out into a huge grin. "I love you too."

Abbie smiled at the cuteness of the situation, she just wanted to scream "AWW!" at the top of her lungs. But in a way, she felt a lump rise to her throat and a quick surge of jealousy. She wished that she could tell Chris that she loved him…ever since the rape she had almost forgotten. But now, being in his presence alone, made her heart race like it normally did. She was in love.

The two went into Chris's room, but Abbie couldn't really see the details of it because it was dark, but she could see that it was dirty, and that there was no sense of décor or anything. It was bland, and that was certainly not him. They sat down on the bed together, facing each other. They stared intensely.

"Oh Abbie," Chris sighed, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Abbie said a little too quickly, "Everything's fine."

"Don't lie," Chris ordered, "Please tell me the truth."

"Oh Chris…it's just so difficult to say…"

"Abbie, we've been through this before! You can tell me anything, I promise," Chris pleaded.

"Chris, I was raped," Abbie let out with exasperation.

"What?" Chris asked, his face draining, his eyes wide, "By…by who?"

"….I don't want to tell you."

"Oh god…"

"What happened was that on the double date when I was walking home alone, someone knocked me out. By the time I woke up, I was already raped. I started to scream, he put his hands…" she paused with a shaky breath, "Billy came and tackled the guy, we were in his car…Teddy came and carried me into his house, the rape was right outside…" Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she fought them. She wouldn't let Chris see her cry, she didn't want to be seen as weak. And she especially didn't want to remember and feel anymore pain.

"Abbie," Chris said in a gentle, caring voice, reaching to stroke her face with his cheek, "I'm so sorry. You have to tell me who it was…"

Abbie let out a strange, gasping sound. It was like a sob, but she wasn't crying. "It was your brother," she told him quickly.

Chris paused, and his eyes became wide. "My brother…my-my brother? Eyeball?"

He buried his face in his hands, and the whole room was silent. Abbie stared at him. What was going on?

"God, this is all the more of a reason for me to do this," Chris sighed, "Abbie, this is so hard to say…."

"Say it Chris."

"I…I have to break up with you," Chris informed shakily.

And that was when her heart was snapped in half. Too many questions bubbled to the surface of her mind, trying to fly out of her mouth and into Chris's ears, and then into his mind to turn into answers and make another exchange.

"Wha…What…why…." Abbie stammered.

Chris took a deep breath and looked her in the eye.

"I've completely ruined you. Before the two of us got together, you were so happy. You were just filled with happiness, nothing could bring you down, and you were perfect. But then, I started to take a huge interest in you, and you took it. We started to date. Now look at what's happening. Ace and Catie get together and try to destroy our group, Gordie feels uneasy, Vern is just even more clueless than before, and Teddy and Emma have gone crazy…but you. You're worst of all. Now you get raped by my own _brother_, and your reputation took a huge dive. Look at you. You aren't at your peak like you used to be, and it's all my fault. If you keep going out with me, or maybe even hang out with me, you'll end up as a dirty prostitute or something, or you'll go stupid, you won't be as smart as you are now. And if you really are smart, you'll break up with me and find better friends, ones that will be able to carry your reputation and respect you. You belong in a different world. I don't deserve you….." Chris trailed off, and then sniffed. His eyes were now cast downwards, and he stayed absolutely still. He looked up at her, his whole face quivering with emotion.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't stop myself. I can't see you get hurt worse than you already are because of me. I….I dunno what I'm doing……and I want to tell you that even if you forget about me and find someone else, and even if we never meet each other again after this that I……I…..I love you."

Then, he began to cry. Not that soft, mellow sort of crying, but full out sobbing. Tears flew all over his handsome face, and some even landed on Abbie's face, mixing with her tears. They cried together, hugging each other, Chris's head on her shoulder. Their bodies shuddered against each other, making their skin tingle and their bones rattle in rhythm with each other.

"Don't leave me!" Abbie gasped through her tears, "I don't care about your reputation, I don't care about mine, I don't care about anything and anyone but you! Because……_I love you, Christopher Chambers_!"

There it was. It was finally off of her chest, out of her mind. That strong emotion that was burning in her heart was finally known to someone besides her. It was such a relief, such a wonderful feeling that she had the moment the words had escaped her lips.

Chris began to cry even more. Abbie lifted his head from her shoulder, and with her hands holding his cheeks, she pulled him forward and kissed him. It was a bittersweet kiss: there was passion in it and Chris's lips always tasted sweet, but both of their tears mixed in with it and there was just so much pain behind it.

She began to deepen the kiss, trying to make the passion and love rule over the sadness and bitterness. He reluctantly added to the kiss as well, helping her. That was when tongues started moving about, and moans escaped their locked lips. Breaths were becoming hard to catch, and they were moving around quite a bit.

Chris gave her a light, suggestive push and the two fell back onto the bed. They continued to kiss, and Chris moved from her lips to her neck. Suddenly he ceased his kissing.

"Abbie," Chris panted, "We better stop. Because I think if we go any further…I won't be able to control myself."

"No. Don't stop," Abbie pleaded, "I want you. I need you. I love you."

Chris paused, but then returned to her neck, and Abbie closed her eyes with a pleasurable smile. A shirt came off, and then another. They soon began to display how much they were in love.

Abbie sighed deeply. She was surely in heaven. She was lying in Chris's bed, her head resting on his bare chest, listening to his heart beating in perfect syncopation. And she realized: his heart was beating for _her_.

She looked up at Chris. He was snoring lightly, his mouth slightly open. His dirty blonde hair was tousled, and his cheeks were still tearstained from when he had been crying so heavily. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Just looking at him caused that loving emotion to rush through her veins and made her heart leapt. She never knew that love could be this strong. She never knew that she would find love, much less at sixteen years old. Everyone will have thought she was more insane than they thought before. Now she was claiming that she was in _love _with a Chambers boy! But she wouldn't be claiming, she'd be telling the truth.

She closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't care what everyone else thought. All that mattered was her and Chris: and they were in love.

Abbie fell asleep to the steady, warming beating of Chris's heart.

A/N: WOOT! HOPEFULLY I TRICKED YOU ALL INTO THINKING THAT IT WASN'T THEM. BUT NOPE.


	17. Happiness and Propositions Galore!

A/N: Hello all! I don't have too much to say, except sorry for the wait and enjoy the chapter! Oh yeah. There is something. I hope I don't make my chapter too unrealistic. If it is, deal with it, you can do it…..please?

Disclaimer: Nothing but the plot and Abbie and Emma and Catie are mine. Mkay? Would I really be writing this right now if Stand By Me was mine? Hmm I think not.

**Chapter 17: Happiness and Propositions Galore!**

Even though it had only been a week since the most wonderful night of her life, Abbie had improved immensely. It seemed as if the love Chris gave, devoted, and had for her brightened her as a human being. Her skin went back to its fresh, light tan color, her eyes sparkled constantly, and she was always glowing whenever she was around her friends. The only thing that could stop her now was her two-week bout of bulimia nervosa. Although now she ate slowly and didn't throw up after every meal, she still had problems of keeping down her bile at random moments. Even though it was painful, it never bothered her as much as it had before. Now Chris would follow her to the bathroom every time she had to vomit, pull back her hair while she did so, helped her clean up after she was finished, and gave her a hug. With Chris's encouragement and love, she knew that she would slowly get back to as normal as she was.

The day after Abbie and Chris made love, Abbie decided that she should set Teddy free. She went over to Teddy's house, and told him that she had revealed to Chris that she had been raped and that he could tell the rest of the gang if he wanted. The day after that, Gordie, Emma, and Vern buzzed around her constantly, asking concerned questions. Abbie told them that she was fine now, thanks to Chris. This raised much suspicion. Finally, Gordie got Chris to spill that he and Abbie had sexual intercourse, and Emma was quite thrilled.

But her thrill didn't last as long as Abbie thought. It was now Emma who was sickly, and she requested for the gang to show up at her house today. Definitely not wanting to disappoint her ill friend, Abbie agreed. She was now waiting at her and her cousin's house for Chris so the two of them could walk to Emma's house together.

Abbie wandered around the kitchen, scrounging for something to eat. She snagged an apple off of the counter and bit into it, hoping that something as pitiful as an apple wouldn't make her puke. She searched the counter for a magazine to read, until she came across a postcard. With very familiar handwriting.

**HI HONEY!**

**HOW ARE YOU? Your father and I miss you so much! We have had a fun time traveling around the country: we've visited New York, Florida, Louisiana, Washington D.C., Arizona, and now we are traveling through parts of California we've never seen before, followed by a relaxing trip around Oregon. And after that, WE'LL BE PICKING YOU UP FROM CASTLE ROCK! Your father and I cannot wait to see you again, we love you and miss you! Tell your aunt, Vern, and Billy we send our love!**

**Love,**

** Mommy**

Abbie reread the postcard again. If she wasn't too worried about one line, she'd be cringing at her mother's cuteness and act of Abbie still being a baby. But that one sentence "We'll be picking you up from Castle Rock!"…..it scared her. It made her heart rate race, but somehow, she wasn't as worried as she could be. Her world in Castle Rock was now so separate from the life she had before she came. It was like that other world never even existed, that she never had any other friends, that she never had parents. Her world now was Chris. That was all she wanted her world to be.

"Abbs!"

Abbie put the postcard face down on the counter and turned with a smile.

"Finally, my knight in shining armor has come! Not that this princess needs saving…." Abbie trailed off as she went to greet Chris.

"This knight needs to be saved by the princess," Chris informed, closing his left pupil to reveal a black eye and showing her the horrid blue and purple bruises on his arms.

Abbie gave him a tight hug around his waist and looked up at him, as she did only come up to his chest. "My poor Chris….you should just live with me," Abbie suggested, half-kidding.

"I _wish_!"

Abbie smiled. "Come on, let's go. You know Emma will blow her top if we're late."

"Ah yes, the constantly-erupting volcano of rebellion and terror," Chris said fondly as he and Abbie exited the house and started to walk on the sidewalk.

"HA! That sounds like something Gordie would come up," Abbie pointed out.

"Well, I have been around Gordo for some time now," Chris considered, "I think I've started to pick up some of his…ah, creative habits, and he's gotten some of mine."

"Do you have any of my habits?" Abbie asked him.

"Yeah," he answered teasingly, "I'm now a total nerd who lives off of Elvis and sex."

"Oh come off it!" Abbie exclaimed, but then questioned, "Can I have Elvis and sex at the same time?"

Chris gave her a playful push. "Not if you want Elvis's ass kicked by Yours' Truly."

"Oh that would be awesome, to see you and Elvis having a fight…shirts flying off…"

"Now don't get any ideas, missy! Besides, you've already seen what's under _my _shirt," Chris replied devilishly.

"Well, maybe what's under Elvis's is better!" Abbie taunted.

"Is there anything I can do to make sure that you are forever mine?" Chris asked optimistically.

"Yeah…..kiss me passionately and carry me to Emma's," Abbie answered with a smirk, but still with her heart drowning in love.

"Will do," Chris agreed, and scooped her up in his arms so her legs were draped over his left arm and his right arm supported her back, neck, and head.

He swooped down upon her and planted his lips firmly but softly on hers. They dove into an adoring and passionate kiss, tongues mingling and tickling each other with affection. They broke away reluctantly, realizing that their kiss was beginning to consume time along with each others' tongues.

"I love you," Abbie breathed.

"I love you too," Chris sighed, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

She leaned her head to the right, falling against his chest. "Will you carry me to Emma's?"

Chris looked down at her. "I'll carry you until my legs and arms fall off."

Emma was smiling brightly when she let Chris and Abbie in. Vern was already there, tapping what sounded like The Mexican Hat Dance on the coffee table in front of him. He looked up and flashed them a goofy smile.

"Hey guys! Chris, why are you carrying Abbie?"

"…..Because I want to."

"Oh, that makes sense."

Emma motioned for them to sit down, which they did so on a bright red sofa.

"Alright, we're waiting on Gordie," Emma informed.

"Where's the Ted-meister?" Abbie asked.

As if on cue, Teddy stumbled through a hallway door, buckling his pants.

"Just taking care of some business," Teddy notified.

"Knowing you, that means that you were either having sex or going to the bathroom!" Chris exclaimed.

"Hey, hey! Which one do I do more often?" Teddy asked.

"Have sex," answered Abbie, Chris, and Vern.

Teddy stared at them and crossed his arms. "What do you think I am? Some kind of manwhore? You think I'd have sex with another chick at my girlfriend's house?"

The whole room filled with silence.

"Drop dead," Teddy instructed to Vern, and then turned upon Chris and Abbie, "While you two: make little midgets and name them all after their favorite Uncle Ted!"

"What? You aren't going to let them call you Uncle Teddy Bear?" Abbie teased.

"Can we PLEASE stop talking about sex and children!" Emma ordered, looking nervous and tired.

The four turned to look at her, surprised.

"You ok, Em Gem?" Teddy questioned, wrapping his arms around her as he sat down on another couch with her.

"Yeah….it's just-"

BANG! The front screen door flew open and in trudged Gordie, a mess. Blood was rapidly trickling from his nose, and he had deep cuts scattered across his face. His arms carried fresh bruises, and his right hand was holding his crotch.

"That is the LAST time!" Gordie shouted with the rest of energy he had left, and fell into a chair.

Abbie immediately scurried to him. Emma tried to stand up, but she fell back in pain. Chris knelt by Gordie as Abbie dabbed at his nose with a Kleenex she had in her pockets.

"What happened man?"

"Ace happened! He saw me walking on the sidewalk and he jumped me, along with Fuzzy and Vince," Gordie explained in ache, "He nailed me right in the balls….but my nose is killing me."

"Poor Gordo," Abbie said sympathetically.

Chris studied Gordie's hands and considered, "Looks like you won't be writing for awhile."

Gordie looked over at him. "I wouldn't be writing for awhile anyway, I'm fresh out of-OW!"

Abbie had accidentally scratched one of the cuts lining his face. "I'm sorry."

Gordie turned to stare at her. His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. "That's…That's it," Gordie said with realization, "Abbie….talk to me later, alright?"

"Uh…ok…."

"Guys, ok, I can't take it anymore," Emma burst out and turned to Teddy, taking his hands and staring into his eyes, "Teddy, I'm really sorry. Our nights full of passion and love were so great, the best moments of my life, and I don't regret any of it. But Teddy, I'm pregnant."

That explained it all. Why Emma was looking so sick, and why she had thrown up that day Abbie had at school. Still, even though there was an explanation, she was still shocked. Pregnant at sixteen! She began to grope for the answers to the questions she knew everybody was mentally asking themselves: how would Emma support the baby? Was she going to get an abortion? How could the rest of the gang help her? What would Teddy's reaction be?

Abbie's eyes swerved over to Teddy. His face showed surprise, but it was rather mild. Soon, everyone's eyes were upon him. He stayed absolutely frozen, as still as a statue. His head was cocked in thought, as if contemplating if Emma was telling the truth or not.

"Holy crap," he started slowly, "I'm gonna be a father."

Emma swallowed. "I'm sorry," she apologized helplessly.

Teddy turned to her gradually and grabbed her shoulders.

"Sorry? What do you need to be sorry for? I'm gonna be a dad. HOT SHIT!" he shouted, pumping a fist into the air, now starting to talk really fast, "I'm so fricken excited! What to teach the little tike? Baseball's a must, how to shoot a gun, gotta get that boy ready for the army…..OH! I'll show him how to be smooth with the ladies, where _else _could he learn that from? Shit, I really hope the kid's not retarded, the ladies don't like retarded dudes, no wonder Vern never has a date…..I bet he won't be, coming with my genes. He'll be a good-looking little fucker, yes he will-"

"TEDDY!" everyone yelled.

"Huh? Oh. Sorry."

"Teddy, we can't make plans like that just yet," Emma said, "There's still so much left to decide. I don't even know if we're going to keep the baby-"

"Of course we are!" Teddy declared defiantly, "We're gonna keep him and raise him to be just like his old man!"

Emma looked at him weakly. "I don't know. We're only sixteen. It would be a lot of fun having a baby around, but don't we need to finish school?"

"School, schmool," Teddy said with a toss of his hand, "I'm a workin' man. I'll get the money while you stay in school, if it's that important to you."

"Teddy, you can't drop out of school!" Emma exclaimed, "You'll go stupid! And besides, you aren't the one carrying the baby around anyway. Who's going to watch him or her when I'm at school and you are at work?"

"I'll take _him _to work with me! He'll be fine, he'll be tough like his dad!"

"My parents are going to kill me," Emma claimed, closing her eyes and leaning against her love.

"Aw Em Gem, they won't kill you. You're parents are easygoing, I'm sure they'll understand. And if they don't, you can move in with me! I know my mom won't give a rat's ass."

Emma turned to look at the group. "What do you guys think?"

Chris and Abbie looked at each other. They had no idea what to say or what to do. It wasn't like _they _knew any better about babies than Emma did. What were they supposed to say?

Gordie stood up and put a comforting arm around Emma. "Em, it's really your descision."

"And mine!" Teddy cried.

"Well, I mean, she's the one carrying the baby. Going through the pain," Gordie explained.

"Pain? There should be _no _pain while carrying _my _child," Teddy informed, annoyed.

"There's pain in every pregnancy, don't you know _anything_?" Gordie asked, surprised.

"I do know that I'll make a better father than you ever will!" Teddy claimed.

"You'd make a better father if you left and never touched the kid than play with him," Gordie muttered under his breath.

"WHAT? I'LL MAKE A GREAT FATHER!" Teddy yelled.

"Teddy, face it. You're too concerned about yourself to make a good father!" Gordie told him.

"Bullshit!" Teddy cried, "I love Emma, don't I? She's the best thing that ever happened to me!"

"If you really loved her, you would have waited until your wedding night to even consider having sex! There should usually be a wedding before a child is born!" Gordie preached.

Teddy froze. He cracked a smile and leapt off of the couch, onto the floor. He scrounged the carpet for anything, only finding a shiny penny and crumbs from leftover food. He got on one knee and held the penny up to Emma.

"Emma, the love of my life, will you marry me?"

"Stop it," Emma ordered, "You're embarrassing me."

"No, I mean it," Teddy said with all seriousness, "Emma, will you marry me?"

Emma's mouth flew open, her breathing becoming hard and ragged, staring at Teddy with shock.

"Come on, please…..I'll pay you!" Teddy exclaimed, thrusting the penny in front of Emma's face, "Please, I'll do anything for you to marry me. I'm gonna kneel here until your heart melts."

"Well you better get up then," Emma told him with a smile, snatching the penny from him, "Because my heart's a liquid now."

Teddy stood up, and lifted her up into the air, spinning her around, knocking into the coffee table and Vern.

"WE'RE ENGAGED, WE'RE ENGAGED, WE'RE ENGAGED, WOO!"

The rest just stared. Abbie felt very uncomfortable, and she sensed that the others did too.

"Hey, can we go now?" Vern asked.

"Yeah, go on, get outta here," Teddy ordered, gazing at Emma's face, looking ready to devour her lips, "I've got some more business to take care of."

The rest of the group walked out of the door to the sounds of Teddy laughing and Emma gasping. They all looked at each other apprehensively.

"Right," Gordie started, "Abbie, we need to talk."

"Oh yeah, ok," Abbie agreed, still very confused about the whole situation of Emma and Teddy, "Chris, do you want to wait up or go home?"

Chris shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. "Um, I was kind of wondering if I could stay at your place tonight," Chris told her quietly, "You know, um, my old man-"

"Of course!" Abbie exclaimed, "Go on back with Vern, and I'll catch up with you guys! If I'm late, go take a warm shower, that should….ease the pain."

Chris nodded, kissed her on top of the head, and jogged up by Vern.

"You're so lucky to have someone like Chris, you know that right?" Gordie asked.

"Yes! I love Chris!" Abbie said, defending herself.

"Well, anyway," Gordie started, "I was thinking. You know how during…um…your encounter, Eyeball asked you if you knew where Catie was? I was thinking….maybe we could tell Ace, but of course, in some type of form like a letter or something, he wouldn't listen to it if it came out of our mouths. He'll think there's some kind of relationship between Catie and Eyeball, and he'll break it off with Catie and beat the crap out of Eyeball. That way, the whole group can get revenge and no more beatings….and no more encounters, most important of all. But I wanted to ask you before I did it, because you know, you're my friend. I don't want to exploit your encounter with Eyeball or just use it to get revenge, because that's heartless, and I don't want to be heartless towards you or make you feel awful, because I love you. So, is it ok?"

"Of course," Abbie answered with all seriousness, "It's definitely alright. It could be put to some use, and we can get something good out of it, and not just that…" she paused with a shaky breath, "Not just that terrible shit that I ended up going through. Of course, give them all hell."


	18. Chris and Emma in Danger, White Lie Done

A/N: Hey ya'll! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile! And, I'm sorry, but I feel that this is a dud of a chapter….hope you enjoy it anyway.

**Chapter 18: Chris and Emma in Danger, White Lie Done**

Chris strolled into his house-shack, whistling. Thank GOD his father wasn't going to be here for the next couple days. Last night he had stormed out of the house, claiming with rage that "he had to get out of this dump for awhile". Well, Chris thought, the only thing that made it a goddamn dump was you hanging around, throwing your beer cans and wine bottles and shit everywhere.

"OOOHHH CHRISTOPHER!" a voice called out in mock-merry.

Chris scowled. Great. His big brother was home. But Chris had started to refer to him as "the man who deflowered my girlfriend without permission", or his personal favorite, "That goddamn, son-of-a-bitching, motherfucking, cuntlicking, asswiping, dickfaced, piece of no good lowlife shit". Ah, how he loved curse words.

"Christopher, our bedroom now, please?"

"Fuck off, Rich," Chris answered, but decided what the hell. He loped into the bedroom that he and Eyeball shared. His brother was standing right by Chris's bed, his jaw set tight, his hands hidden behind his back. Chris stared at him.

"What do you want?" Chris asked.

"I want you to tell me….is it true….you had sex?"

Chris gazed at him with foe curiosity. He wasn't surprised that Eyeball found out, actually, he was very certain that Eyeball would have found out. Chris just didn't know if his brother knew who it was with.

"Nah, I'm only sixteen. When did you have first have sex?" Chris asked casually.

"Fifteen," Eyeball answered with a smug smile, "I'm twenty one now."

"Oh," Chris replied, his face losing its shine, "Well, I didn't."

"Don't _make _me show you the evidence," Eyeball threatened.

"Too late. Let me see it," Chris ordered eagerly, wondering what kind of evidence Eyeball could have found.

Eyeball gave Chris a large smirk, and brought his hands from his back to reveal…….an Elvis t-shirt. Chris's heart sank as deep as the Titanic. He knew that Eyeball knew that he wasn't that much of a fan of Elvis. Plus, Chris had given Abbie his own t-shirt to wear home.

"Oh shit," Chris muttered under his breath.

"Oh shit yes indeed, Christopher," Eyeball started, taking a step forward, "Congrats on having your cherry popped, little bro. But be prepared to have the rest of you popped into oblivion." He then laughed raucously, leaving Chris to be backed into a corner, refusing to fight.

* * *

"OUCH!" Gordie howled in pain, clutching his foot. 

"Sorry Gordo, but I have to hurry and get this- OUCH!"

Abbie had hit her head hard against the low hanging chandelier that hung in Gordie's dining room after stepping on Gordie's foot. She held her head for a brief moment, and then half-walked, half-jogged out of Gordie's house. But Gordie was quick to follow.

"You sure that letter is good enough?" Gordie asked her, doubtful.

"Yeah, if it's Ace, he'll believe it, that pig," Abbie answered.

"Is it believable enough that we use your rape to say to Ace, "Hey man, you're best friend is doing your girlfriend?"

"Oh please, any of the Cobras would believe it," Abbie replied, hopeful.

Abbie and Gordie continued at this pace to The Mellow Tiger, a bar where Ace and his J.D. buddies hung out. Luckily, Ace was there, his black 1952 Ford in the parking lot. The two crept slowly but surely to Ace's car, and once they reached their destination, hid behind it.

"I pray to God Ace's car doesn't have any alarms," Gordie said nervously, looking up at the sky, "God, if Ace ends up killing me for this, will you pretty please send me to Heaven because if you don't, I'd end up in Hell with the bastard who killed me in the first place."

Abbie rolled her eyes and threw the letter into the car through the open driver's window without touching it. But then suddenly…

"Hey man, I'll be back. Gotta go pick up some of the guys," Ace Merrill's voice was heard.

"Shit!" Gordie whispered, his voice cracking, high and squeaky.

"Come on," Abbie urged, grabbing his arm and dragging him away, ducking behind each car as they went.

Once Gordie and Abbie were safely out of sight from Ace, they gave each other some skin by the insistence of Gordie. Abbie smiled. He was becoming more like Chris, but in a way, his own man. From what Chris had told Abbie, she could make the conclusion that Gordie was beginning to grow up fast, and that his innocence had been lost a long time ago. Could have fooled her.

"That was rather scary," Abbie admitted, she and Gordie strolling along the sidewalk to Chris's house, "I know you were scared. Scared that Ace was gonna beat you to a pulp."

"I wasn't scared," Gordie said, dignified.

"_Much_, you sucker."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yeah?" Abbie asked, turning her head to look at him.

"I wasn't scared. I was fucking _terrified_!" Gordie exclaimed, causing both he and Abbie to laugh.

"Good one, Gordo," Abbie acknowledged.

"Definitely."

They kept in silence for the rest of the way to Chris's house, and the neighborhood was strangely quiet. Suddenly, Abbie saw something. A body was laying half in the sidewalk, half in the street. She squinted her eyes better to see who it was, but to no avail.

"Gordie," Abbie started, panicky, "There's a body lying in the road."

Gordie's head swished around, and he too squinted his eyes. And then they got huge, and his lip quivered. Suddenly, he took off at a run towards the body, his arms pumping and his feet pounding. Abbie followed him, and then saw why he did this.

There was her love, lying askew across the sidewalk and street. His navy blue shirt was ripped at the left shoulder and at the ends. His arms had flown around him, and his blonde head was hovering above the street. Blood was everywhere, his face, the top of his head, his arms, and his legs: everywhere.

"FUCK!" Gordie shouted loudly and angrily, dropping down beside Chris, checking for a pulse.

Abbie turned around, her hands shaking as if they were having their own personal seizures. Then she screamed, "SOMEBODY HELP! HELP! HELP! CHRISTOPHER CHAMBERS IS HURT!"

Suddenly, three old ladies, almost in unison, stuck their graying heads outside their doors and looked around. They saw what was happening, and two scurried down towards him, while one went back inside.

"Is he alright?" one of them asked.

"Do you think he'd be lying on the street with blood all over him if he fucking _was_!" Gordie exclaimed.

"You don't have to be so rude," the second one lectured, "Now, the boy's going to be fine; he deals with this almost every day."

"Like you don't even know," Gordie responded, his eyes scanning the road quickly in search for someone or something. Abbie abruptly noticed that Gordie looked close to crying.

In a few minutes time, Gordie got his wish. The ambulance came cruising down the street, and they got out, put Chris on a stretcher, and then put him inside the ambulance.

"Excuse me," an attendant started, "Who is related most to the young man?"

"He is," Abbie answered quickly, pointing at Gordie. She knew that Gordie was the one who had to go with Chris.

"What's the relation?"

"Uh, um, best friend since kindergarten," Gordie replied. He looked so shocked with his doe like eyes that he looked like a deer in headlights.

"Come on son," the attendant instructed, grabbing Gordie's arm, "You can go into the ambulance with one of the ladies. Can you give us a way to reach the parents?"

"Um yeah, can it wait?" Gordie asked tentatively.

"Let's go."

The attendant, Gordie, and both of the old ladies got into the ambulance with the other attendants and Chris and drove off, the sirens of the ambulance damaging her eardrums.

Abbie turned and looked around her. Nothing. It was all nothing, just a few shacks. There was no one around, and she wondered whether anybody could hear Chris's cries for help during the night. Abbie took a deep breath. It was odd how she felt about this; she wasn't crying or anything, which surprised her quite a bit. But she could have cried when she saw a certain someone strutting out of Chris's house.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss Abbie, also known as "the girl who had passionate sex with my little brother and loves him so…" What are you doing here?"

Abbie froze. Her mind told her to move her ass, but her body was as still as a statue. How did Eyeball know?

"Speechless today, eh?"

"Wha-YOU!" Abbie suddenly realized, "You did that to Chris! But- your father-"

"Out for the weekend," Eyeball explained, a smug smirk on his face, starting towards her, "You know, I've had a thing for you for such a long time. And you know, I'm used to getting my way. So guess who will come out of this-ah-dispute as the winner?"

Abbie stared him down, "I will. You are nothing but a lowlife. You live up to that goddamn reputation, Eyeball. You'll never be the man your brother is," she hissed. White hot anger was surging through her. How could Eyeball do this to his little brother when he saw his father beating on him, plus himself? Eyeball knew what pain Chris was going through, why couldn't he give his brother a fucking hand?

"You bitch, I'm gonna have another field day with you!" Eyeball claimed, grabbing her left arm.

And with her right hand….SMACK! She hit Eyeball across the face with all the strength she could muster. Then, she kneed him in his balls, and then poked him in his eyes, getting him extra hard in his bad one. He howled in pain, and let go of her arm. And Abbie fled.

She wasn't going to let anything like the rape happen to her ever again.

* * *

"This one?" 

"Nuh-uh."

"Well, then how about this one?"

"Nuh-uh."

"_This _one?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Can you say anything else besides nuh-fucking-uh?" Emma exclaimed, frustrated.

"Nuh-uh," Teddy answered, a playful smirk obvious on his adorable face.

"I don't think he can, Em," Vern agreed.

"Did I ask you Vern? No."

"Well, can't I say something once in awhile?"

"NO!" Teddy and Emma shouted, Vern rolling his eyes.

The three were looking around for baby clothes in a tacky clothing store. Emma insisted that they at least try to buy one set for a girl and one for a boy, but Teddy wouldn't hear any of it. He was so convinced that his child would be a boy that he already bought him a baseball bat. Vern? He had basically become the tag-along now.

"Teddy, we have to _at least _buy _one _pair of _girl _clothes," Emma told him.

"No! I refuse!" Teddy responded proudly, "I will not have girl clothes for my boy."

"Hey, he could be a transvestite, if you wanna," Vern cut in.

"My child will NOT be a transvestite, you morphadite!" Emma and Teddy yelled at Vern in unison.

Emma began to walk farther down the aisle, searching for clothes. Most of it was all frilly, flowery stuff, and Emma wasn't up for that type of stuff. Maybe Teddy was right, maybe they should dress whatever it is in boy's clothes….

"You are gonna make a great dad, don't worry about what Gordie says," Vern encouraged.

"I'm not," Teddy replied, checking out his hair through the metal hangers holding a rack of pants, "Gordie's such a loser, I don't listen to him and his dorky stories anymore."

Teddy turned around the face Vern, his hair combed into a Beatles style.

"Looks fabulous man," Vern sucked up.

Teddy knew that lately Vern had been kissing his ass. And he was enjoying every minute of it.

"Yeah, I know. I wonder if Emma digs the hair. Hey, Ems!" Teddy called.

When there was no answer, Teddy tried again, "Em Gem?"

Teddy began to wander up and down the aisles, in search of Emma. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide.

"VERN! VERN GODDAMNIT, CALL THE AMBULANCE!"

A/N: Ok, I really hope that didn't suck. Don't worry, it all leads up to something.


	19. Rejoice, but Grieve

A/N: HOLA CHICAS! Te gusta Hard to Say Important Things? I hope so! Anyway, thanks for reviewing and for everything. Hmm….guess what? ONLY THREE MORE CHAPTERS LEFT! I'm gonna try to get this story completed by Wednesday! Think I can do it? I think I can!

Disclaimer: Nothing….is mine except for the plot and Abbie and Emma.

**Chapter 19: Rejoice….but Grieve**

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Abbie swore under her breath, trying her hardest not to cry, "He's gonna die, isn't he Gordie?"

Gordie looked down into Abbie's eyes, backing away from their intense hug to gaze at her. Honestly, he had no idea what to say. He knew Chris wasn't going to die….but in a way, to both Chris and himself, he had already died a long time ago. His father had done too much for him not to be. Chris might not be dying, but maybe he feels he is, or maybe he has been feeling this way since the day he was born. Or since the day when Old Lady Simons let him down….but, Gordie thought, didn't _everyone _let him down? There was no one for him, except for Abbie and himself. No wonder Chris might feel like dying. Maybe he would be able to take the blows, the punches, the insults, the hisses he got every time he turned a corner in the hallways of school if there was someone there. Gordie felt as if _he _let Chris down. He let Chris take all of this crap….but he wouldn't let him take anymore. Chris was practically Gordie's savior, and now it was Gordie's turn to step in and help the person who affected his life more than anybody else.

"He's not gonna die," Gordie replied firmly, "If he dies, I die. And that's _not _going to happen."

Abbie stared at him curiously. "If you both die, I'll commit suicide."

Gordie folded his arms, but his eyes widened. "Don't," Gordie cooed, "Don't say stuff like that—that's—not right. Now, we have a lot of stress on us, but Chris has more than all of us. Chris just….damnit Chris!"

Gordie turned abruptly away from Abbie and walked slowly over to the nearest wall. He punched it as hard as his measly little hands could, and he banged his head against it a few times in perfect rhythm. He felt so ashamed. This was so out of personality, he would never do anything like this. But why he felt more anger than anything was the clearest thing.

Suddenly, Teddy stomped into the waiting room from the doors of the emergency room, his face holding a sharp scowl, and his body tense, his fists clenching. His caramel brown eyes were absolutely livid, and Gordie wondered, _Oh great, what'd he do this time?_

"They won't let me see her," Teddy muttered to Abbie once he reached her, "They won't let me see Emma. My fiancé. The love of my fucking messed up life." All of his energy seemed to be draining from the rest of his body and blazing out of his eyes, as if they were the most powerful part of him. Suddenly, Teddy turned right back around and started back inside the emergency room, "THEY WON'T LET ME SEE HER! GODDAMNIT I WANT TO SEE HER!"

Soon, a middle-aged nurse and a younger looking doctor came to block Teddy's path. Apparently, they were nowhere near strong enough, because Teddy was fighting them with all his might, and he was clearly winning. They grabbed at his t-shirt and tried to hold him back.

"SHE'S AWAKE, SHE'LL LET ME IN!" He tried to plead with the doctors, "SHE'S GOING TO HAVE THE BABY WITHOUT ME BEING THERE! I WANNA SEE MY BABY BEING BORN—IT'S MY BABY, YOU FUCKING RETARDED WETENDS!"

"Where in the world is the girl's parents?" the nurse asked the doctor as they both struggled with Teddy.

"We called them, they said they are getting here as fast as they can-"

"THEY GET TO SEE HER! AND I DON'T! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? I WANT TO SEE THE WOMAN I FUCKING LOVE!"

"The real question is," the doctor continued, "Where are _this _kid's parents?"

"I LOVE HER!" Teddy screamed, and then, he started to sob, "LET ME SEE HER, I LOVE HER, AND I'LL LOVE MY CHILD!"

"Doctor, can't we just let him see her?"

"Rules are rules….maybe when the baby is ready to be born."

"NOW GODDAMNIT, NOW!"

"Hey, can someone get this kid under control?" the doctor shouted to no one in particular in the waiting room.

"Here," Abbie volunteered, stepping forward, and she grabbed a hold of Teddy by his shirt, while he continued to bawl, except screaming incoherent words now.

"Now, we are going to give him something to calm him down-"

"I don't think that's necessary," Abbie protested, skeptical.

"Trust me—it'll do him good," the doctor insisted, pulling out a syringe and sticking it into Teddy's arm. He then threw a band-aid over the place where he stuck him, and then gently put him in Abbie's arms, Gordie coming over to help. Teddy immediately seemed to calm down a little, but he was still crying. The doctor and the nurse retreated without another word to them, and Abbie and Gordie dragged Teddy over to some chairs leaning against a wall of the waiting room. They laid Teddy down across the chairs, but he kept grabbing their shirts, fighting meekly to sit up.

"Please," Teddy croaked, "Please…"

"I'm sorry," Abbie replied, and gave him an extra insistent push to lay down, which he did so.

Abbie sat down on the side by Teddy's head, and Gordie the feet. Abbie stroked through Teddy's hair fondly, while he whimpered pathetically. She couldn't even begin to fathom what Teddy must feel. And she felt rather bad, because she had never been there for Teddy before, and he had been there for her dozens upon dozens of times. And now she felt like such a cheat, like she betrayed him by letting the doctor do this to him. She knew he had a lot of pain too, but she just never recognized it, and now it was like it suddenly came and slapped her across the face. And the thing with Teddy was that he wouldn't even be able to get out like Chris would. Chris was one of the lucky ones. Abbie almost smacked herself for saying that. Chris, a lucky one? The only thing he was lucky for was for turning out so much unlike anybody she had ever met before….so rare, so pure. He had been hit and beaten and hissed at, but he was still unspoiled and untainted at the same time, despite all of the things he had seen.

* * *

"Abbie Tessio?"

Abbie's head shot up so fast at the unfamiliar voice that she heard her neck crack. There was a nurse standing outside the emergency room doors, a clipboard in her hand.

"Miss Tessio, if you are here to see Christopher Chambers, he's awake, you may see him."

Abbie would have jumped out of her seat and through the roof if Teddy hadn't involuntarily moved his head into her lap. She lifted his head gently and then laid it back on the chairs, not disturbing his peaceful slumber. Gordie gave her a small smile as she turned back to wave at him. The nurse led her through the doors, down the bland looking hall, and into an also bland looking room. The only thing that wasn't bland in the room was the person sitting up in the bed.

"CHRIS!"

Abbie rushed over to him, jumped on the bed, and took a hold of his face, one hand on each cheek.

"Oh my god, I thought something awful might have happened to you-"

"Me? No way," Chris responded nonchalantly, "I'm a brick wall."

"I know you are," Abbie agreed, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

"Don't cry," Chris cooed, stroking her face, "Here I am, and here I'll stay." He took his hand and put it to her heart. "That's where you'll find me. Hope that doesn't sound too corny."

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," Abbie whispered, a smile on her face.

"You're the most beautiful thing I've seen," Chris replied, and reached for her.

She fell into him without a moment's hesitation, and they began to kiss.

* * *

When Abbie strolled out of Chris' room, she saw Teddy racing wildly towards her. She could see that he had a huge grin on his face, his eyes were sparkling with happiness. The last time she saw him, he had been unconscious from the shot. How long had she been with Chris?

"Abbie, Abbie, Abbie!" he called, just like a little kid would to a friend to show them something exciting, "She had her baby, come on!"

Abbie's stomach dropped. Emma had the baby. Just now? She missed it. She fucking missed it. It was like she blinked and she suddenly appeared inside Emma's hospital room, when in yet Teddy had dragged her. She looked over towards the bed and saw Emma, looking rather flustered and pink in the face, but smiling all the same. Her eyes were even more sparkly than Teddy's. In her hands was a tiny little pink baby. It was weird, she had never seen a new-born before. It looked like a new-born hamster. Was that what all babies looked like when they were born? She prayed to God that it was.

"Emma," Abbie whispered in awe, "Congrats."

"Abbie, I wish you could have been there! It was great!"

"Great?" Teddy snorted softly, "You should have seen her, she was about to bite my fucking head off! Oh hey, guess what? The baby just heard its first profanity!"

"Nice," Abbie acknowledged sarcastically and made her way to Emma, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"A girl," Emma responded, her smile growing wider.

Teddy shuffled uncomfortably, his arms folded. "Did you let the doctor check again?"

Emma rolled her eyes at him and scowled, "Are you too stupid to check yourself? Do you not know the difference?"

"No," Teddy answered grumpily, "Well yeah I do, what I mean is: no. I don't want it. We ordered a boy, we ordered a boy! Take IT back, we want a boy! Don't you?"

"Honestly, I couldn't give a shit about the sex of our child," Emma huffed, "But if you do, you can call our engagement o-f-f: OFF."

Teddy stared at Emma, his eyes going wide. He stayed absolutely frozen for what seemed forever, until:

"Oh my little girl! Oh how I love ya, how I love ya!" Teddy exclaimed, prying the girl out of Emma's arms, "How are you, my little cutie girl? My little…Laura. How are you, my darling little Laura? Goo-goo-goo!"

"Laura?" Emma asked, but then titled her head in consideration, "Hmm….Laura Duchamp. That doesn't sound bad at all."

"LAURA ROSE DUCHAMP!" Teddy screamed in the baby's face, and there was his first mistake as a parent. The baby started to cry. And cry. And cry. And cry. Emma snatched her out of Teddy's arms and started to cradle her gently.

"UGH WILL THAT THING SHUT UP? IT'S LIKE MY ART TEACHER: YADDA, YADDA, YADDA, BLAH!"

"Idiot," Emma murmured under her breath.

Abbie looked around. "Hey guys, where's Gordie?"

"Oh, he stepped out for a little bit. I think he went to go get some stuff at those tacky little gift shop things in gas stations," Emma answered, but then her eyes lit up, "Oh, and you and Gordie are the godparents. Teddy and I decided."

"You mean _you_ decided," Teddy growled, falling into a chair.

* * *

Gordie began to whistle as he took the shortcut through the alleyway to the hospital, carrying a bag of goodies for his friends. He was so proud of them all. Suddenly, it hit him: one day, he was going to write about his friends and all the good times they had together. His friends were so important to him. More than anything he could possibly fathom.

He suddenly tripped over something, but regained his balance. He turned around to see what it was he tripped over, and his mouth fell open in dead shock. There on the ground was an all too familiar girl, her hair brown, her teeth a perfect white, and her eyes blue. Catie was her name. She was bloody from head to toe, and blood was even still seeping out of her skinny body. Her face was cut up and scraped, and she had bruises all over her arms and legs. Her clothes were practically torn off, scraps lying around the ground near her. There was an all too familiar pocket knife lodged into her neck.

It was the second time Gordon Lachance had seen a dead human being.


	20. Everything is in His Eyes

**A/N:** Hello all! Yes, a rather quick update, but I'm eager to get this story finished, because well…I've never really finished a story before. A GOOD story, anyway. Well in any event, this will not be done by Wednesday. I actually have no idea when, but I can guarantee it to be done by the end of March, at the very latest. Alright, just a few more things and then I will shut up so you can read.

Ok firstly: if I don't update regularly on both of my stories, it is because our Wizard of Oz play is at the end of March, and I'm Dorothy, so basically you can say that I am scared out of my wits, and I need to practice like there's no tomorrow. Secondly, I've got three more chapters to go after this one. Go figure. And this one is probably a lot shorter because there's like hidden meaning and romantic blah stuff in it.

Let's see what else….ah yes! I've recently read over this story and I've noticed a few unfinished plot holes during the first 9 or so chapters. Quite frankly, some of them aren't even important to the storyline anymore, and if you have questions about them, leave it to me in a review or a pm, and I'll reply. God, I'm making myself sound like a professional (not meaning to be!). BEWARE OF THIS CHAPTER, A FLUFFINESS OVERLOAD! Rambling is over. Here we go.

**Chapter 20: Everything is in His Eyes**

The police confirmed all suspicions about the murder of Catie Warshaw about a week after the crime: it had been, in fact, Ace Merrill. Traces of his DNA were found all over the crime scene, but then again…so had Gordie Lachance's. The police had no doubts in their minds that Gordie didn't and couldn't do anything like this, especially since he was Denny's brother, but they just couldn't simply rule him out. The one thing that guaranteed that it was Ace who had murdered Catie and not Gordie was the DNA tested from the knife that had been stabbed into Catie's neck. But where was Ace? Ace had been not surprisingly absent that entire week of investigation. Nobody knows where he took off to. The funny thing was that he took Eyeball with him. Was it possible that Ace had been in cahoots with Chris' older brother? At least nothing terrible had happened to Gordie. Although it would seem that Gordie would give a sigh of relief, he did the exact opposite.

Gordie thought he was responsible for the death of his ex-friend, since he gave the letter to Ace that must have driven him over the edge. It was like he murdered Catie himself. What would Denny have said? What if it had been Denny instead of Catie? Whenever thoughts or occurrences of death were near, so was Denny. His older brother would continue to haunt him for the rest of his younger life.

The rest of the gang found out about Catie's murder after Gordie had spoken to some doctors inside the hospital and had phoned the police from a pay phone outside the hospital. He had skidded into Chris' room first, his dark brown hair askew and his eyes looking so lost, just like a puppy. The fact was that Gordie _was _lost. After spilling the story to Chris, he made a wild dash to Emma's room and told the story so fast the gang thought he was going to hurt himself.

It had been two weeks since the murder, and the gang was more than ready to move on with their lives. Actually, Teddy, Emma, and Vern had already moved on from when they heard that it was Ace who had murdered their ex-friend and ex-foe. This could have been because they honestly didn't care about Catie and what happened to her, and it was Laura Rose Duchamp's first few weeks on Earth, and Teddy said, "Hey, why not make them memorable for her?" It's a shame that Teddy didn't even realize that Laura wouldn't remember them at all. It was also sad because Teddy didn't make the best father in the world. He would always put off things to do for Laura, and dump them all on Emma, so she held more responsibility than before. Emma's parents were absolutely livid about how Teddy was treating their daughter and their granddaughter, but Emma knew Teddy would loosen up soon. So she hoped.

Vern had gotten very, very lucky. His mother had refused for him to go to the hospital to see Emma, while she let her niece go see Chris. He hesitantly accepted this and went to the Blue Point Diner with his mother for dinner, and there he had met the most wonderful girl. Her name was Trisha Harvey, and she had to be the only girl in Castle Rock who shared some qualities that he had. So, the two had become good friends in a short two-week time period, and seemed to spend every waking moment together.

Of course Gordie hadn't gotten over Catie's death yet, not because he missed her, but because he thought that he was responsible. The only person he talked to besides the police was Chris. He knew that Chris was the only one that he would be able to confide all of his feelings in, and that Chris would try to give him the best advice he could muster. But Chris was having a difficult time himself.

Not only did Chris have to comfort Gordie, but again with Abbie he had to save the day. But that's what best friends and lovers are for, right? Abbie thought that she had some part in this as well, since she was the one who delivered the letter with Gordie. Plus, she never really hated Catie. She had always thought that Ace and Catie would have broken up and Catie would have said "Hey, look, I'm sorry for what I did." And they'd be friends again. But no. They had to drive Ace over the edge.

Chris and Abbie were taking a walk alone on a Sunday evening, the atmosphere quiet, and the sky dark. They stopped at the Castle Rock Bridge, watching the Castle Rock River flow beneath their feet with a steady yet calming sound, swishing gently against the rocks. Abbie hugged her jacket closer to herself, and Chris put an arm around her waist. They had barely spoken, but the ice had to be broken.

"I just didn't want it to happen."

Chris turned his head slowly to her and nodded in understanding. "You couldn't have done anything about it," he persuaded, "How could you have known Ace would have done something like that?"

"It's in his character to do something like that, isn't it?" Abbie asked him.

"No," Chris answered after a moment's hesitation, "I've seen him do some bad stuff, but I've never even heard a rumor about him murdering someone."

"Don't lie," Abbie said, not missing a beat, "I know what happened to you during the summer when you were twelve. Ace was about to put the same pocket knife that was in Catie's neck in yours."

Chris opened his mouth, but then closed it. He sighed, and stared out as far as he could see the river flow.

"How did you-"

"Teddy told me. When I first met him."

Chris' grip around her waist tightened, and he pulled her closer.

"I don't want you to think that this is your fault. Or Gordie's. You two did nothing wrong. Ace probably would have murdered somebody sooner or later anyway. Not trying to be indiscreet or anything," he added, "But you didn't do anything. What I want you to do is…is look into my eyes."

Abbie raised her eyebrows in question, but obediently did so.

"What do you see?" he asked delicately.

What did she see? The real question was what _didn't _she see? She saw happiness, anger, sadness, jealously, passion, remorse, pain, ecstasy, desire, excitement, lust….and love. Every emotion that was possible to feel was summed up in Chris' ocean colored pools into one huge sensation. Chris had seen and felt it all. Everything was there. It seemed as if the whole world resided in Chris' eyes. Her whole world was in Chris' eyes. It was also in his arms, his legs, his hands, his torso, his hair, his head, his heart: that was her whole world. Chris was her whole world.

"I see everything," she answered truthfully.

Chris' face broke out into that sunny, sweet smile and he commented, "That's deep."

"You're deep. Your eyes are deep," she whispered. She had no idea what she was feeling. Maybe she was feeling that huge emotion that was made up of every feeling that resided in Chris' eyes. What she felt at that moment, she would never be able to place for the rest of her life.

Chris closed his eyes. "Now what do you see?"

"I see nothing," she replied breathlessly.

Chris opened his eyes and pulled Abbie into himself. He looked down upon her with every emotion he could have possibly been feeling. "Wow. Have you ever considered writing? I think you should team up with Gordie and see how things work."

"No way. Gordie and I have different styles," Abbie protested with a smile, but then thought about it. It wouldn't be so bad, being a writer…

"I love you Abbie," Chris told her suddenly, "I love everything about you. I love how you love my eyes. That…that was something you would do. That's what's different about you, Abbie, the way you put more meaning into things that seem so worthless and dirty and nothing. You make them seem like something important."

"Chris," Abbie started softly, "I know what you're talking about when you say that I put meaning into things that seem worthless and dirty and nothing, and that I make them seem important."

"What am I talking about?" Chris asked quietly, running his hands very slowly through her hair.

"Yourself," she answered gently, "But you never knew…the meaning inside of you was always there, and it'll never fade."

Chris leaned in closer towards her, beginning to make the move towards her lips. "You lit up my life, Abbie, there's nothing more to say than that."

"I love you Chris."

Their lips locked in a passionate, heated, and intense kiss. The emotions that had been swirling around inside Chris' eyes and inside Abbie were now being put into the kiss. Every feeling that Abbie and Chris had ever felt had been poured into that single kiss. It was the most powerful thing they both had produced, and Abbie could begin to feel herself tremble in Chris' arms. Chris could almost cry because of all of the pain, all of the anger, all of the hurt he had ever experienced was in that kiss, and he could taste it on both their lips. But she didn't stop, and neither did he. There was a connection they both felt when that kiss started, and it was greater than the both of them. They didn't dare stop until time severed them apart.

"Abbie, darling?"

Abbie could hear the voice right beside her, right in the car on the bridge, but she didn't want to break the connection.

"Abbie, it's your mother!"

She didn't break away, but Chris did reluctantly. She felt like screaming and cursing and kicking…she felt that someone needed their comeuppance for severing such a bond that she had felt at that moment in time. Yet, she turned her head, and there she saw her mother and her father in their 1951 plain blue Cadillac, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of their daughter. They both got out of the car and squeezed her tightly.

"How are you, my baby girl-"

"Oh Abbie Wabbie, we missed you so-"

"You have to tell us everything-"

"We have to tell you everything-"

"We will go to your aunt's house first and-"

"-visit with them as well since we haven't seen them in so long."

They beamed at their daughter, and then looked up at the tall, athletic, messy, dirty blonde, ocean-colored eyed boy next to her.

"Who is _this_?" they both asked in disgusted unison.


	21. What This Place has Done for Her

A/N: Ahh nothing to say this time except enjoy…and Abbie's parents will be called by their first names because it's easier instead of "Abbie's mother" and blah. Also, there's an event in this chapter that happened in another story…just so you know, I'm not stealing from the author, it's just a great idea, and I tried to make it my own. 2 more chapters after this! I'm sad yet excited!

**Chapter 21: What This Place has Done for Her**

Abbie raised both of her eyebrows at her parents after their exclamation. There was no way they could hate him at this very moment, no way….they didn't even know his name, and they hated him!

"Mom, Dad," Abbie said firmly, "This is Christopher Chambers."

Abbie's mother (Claudia)'s eyes widened and she put her hand to her heart. "Did you say _Chambers_?"

Chris shuffled uncomfortably and looked down at his sneakers. "She did, ma'am. That would be me."

"Well…then," her mom shrugged her shoulders with a flourish and let out a huffy sigh, "Um, it's very…ah, _nice _to meet you."

Chris looked up suddenly and gave her a small smile. He outstretched his hand towards her. Claudia stared at it as if there were insects covering his entire hand, gnawing at his skin, creating an incurable disease. Chris looked at his own hand, and then back at Abbie's mother. His eyes bore into her's, trying to stare her down. _That's right lady, you're gonna judge me when you only know my fucking name._ After she didn't back down, Chris withdrew his hand.

Abbie glared at her mother. All she knew was his name…she was just like the rest of Castle Rock. It was true, her mother, not so much her father, thought they were better than everybody. They had tried to spoil Abbie senseless when she was little, but she had felt that everything was so overwhelming she refused everything. Except for food. Abbie shivered inwardly, remembering what all of that food had cost her: friends.

Claudia turned to Abbie, her face returning to a bright smile.

"Abbie darling, we better get going to your aunt's house. We need to catch up, then you'll need to pack your stuff. We'll be spending the night, and then: back home we go!"

Abbie's eyes widened so fast that if you blinked, you would have missed it. Chris' head whipped towards her, and he shot her a questioning, worried, and most of all, horrified, look. She nodded her head at her mother, and then grabbed Chris' arm and pulled him down so she could whisper in his ear.

"I'll see you tonight, I promise," she spoke lightly.

"Well…" Abbie's mother started horribly, "It was a _pleasure_ to meet you, Mr. Chambers."

"Oh please, call me Chris," Chris insisted seriously, "Mr. Chambers is my _father's _name."

"Well Chris, if we don't see any more of you, which is most likely: have a good life."

Abbie's jaw dropped. How could her mother be so incredibly rude?

"Bye Chris," Abbie said simply as she followed her mother into the car.

Chris didn't say anything back to her, because he was waiting for her to tell him that she loved him. But she didn't. The car sped away fast, and Chris glared at it as it took his love away from him.

* * *

"Well, it was so very nice to see you all," Claudia said politely to her sister-in-law, her two nephews, and Vern's girlfriend, "But I think we will retire now. We have a long trip ahead of us."

Abbie's heart was pounding so loud, she could hear the thumping sound in her ears, and she was very surprised nobody else heard it. She was also very surprised that Vern had barely acknowledged her presence, for he was too busy with his girlfriend. Trisha had grabbed a Twinkie, and she and Vern took different ends and started eating it together, and then they met in the middle. They were sharing the icing that was on the inside. Abbie almost puked at the sight of them giggling with white icing all over their mouths.

She didn't dare say a word to him, Billy, or her aunt as her mother and father led her upstairs. She couldn't fucking believe it…..she was leaving Castle Rock tomorrow. After a few minutes of lying in bed thinking of nothing but leaving, she got up and walked into the hallway, where she saw her dad. She engulfed him in a huge hug. Her father was nowhere near as bad as her mother. Her dad was a quiet, reserved person, but he seemed to understand so much. Except for her problems…

"Dad," Abbie started firmly, "I don't want to leave Castle Rock. This place has made me a different person, and I like this person a lot better. I feel like I fit in here, and I have so much fun….dad, it's just really hard to explain what I feel for this place. Can't I stay?"

Her dad looked at her, searching her face unbelievably. "You know your mother is the one to ask, not me."

Abbie sighed and strolled confidently into her mother's room, which at the moment, was her room. She was resting on her bed, in the same place Abbie slept every night, and the same place she first saw Chris. She winced inwardly just thinking about what she'd have to tell him if she couldn't stay, and she felt her heart beginning to tear a little at the thought.

"Mom."

"Abbie?"

"I'm not leaving Castle Rock."

Her mother stared at her with an unreadable expression, her jaw set tight and her eyes not blinking.

"You don't decide that, young lady. I am your mother, and you will come home with your father and I. Back to California, where you belong-"

"Where—where I _what_, excuse me?" Abbie asked incredulously, "I don't belong in California at all! Everybody there hated me…and if they don't anymore, it's because I look ok now. And they hated me because I was _fat_. I have friends here, who like me for who I _am_."

It was true. Everyone didn't want to be her friend in California because she was fat and disgusting, and every day she'd be on the verge of tears, ready to burst. And of course, there was the bulimia…the thing that got her skinnier in the first place. But then working out started to become a bigger thing than the bulimia, so she wasn't skinny like the rest of the girls, but she looked decent. And still—no one wanted to be her friend, until she came to Castle Rock.

She continued, "You don't know what Castle Rock has done for me as a person-"

"You seem a whole lot different, and I mean that in the worse way possible," her mother said coldly.

"Well, you're wrong," Abbie challenged, "There have been such good things…I have a boyfriend."

The minute it escaped from her lips, she regretted it. But even when she said it to her mother, she could still feel this bit of amazement inside of her about having a boyfriend. It was just a weird phrase for her to say.

"A _boyfriend_? Who?" her mother inquired snappishly.

"Chris Chambers," Abbie answered, folding her arms. She felt as if she had to show her mother who should really be calling the shots here. For the very first time she felt as if she should rebel against her mother, and at the moment, nothing could give her greater pleasure than infuriating her.

"That wretched dirty boy we met!" her mother asked loudly in shock, "But he's a _lowlife_!

"Don't call him those things!" Abbie ordered, "And actually…he's told me he _loves _me. Mom, he's in _love _with _me_!"

"He's just saying that to use you for his sexual urges that nobody else will answer because he's a 'bad boy!'" her mother exclaimed.

Abbie's mouth fell open in surprise. How could she say something like _that_? She didn't even know him….and then she realized: that's how it was with the entire town. Even though he had lived here his entire life, nobody really knew Chris. Nobody gave him a chance…except for Gordie, Teddy, Vern, Emma, and herself.

It angered her so much that she dared to retort: "Shut up!"

Now it was her mother's turn to be surprised. Abbie couldn't help but feel pleased with herself, but she could still feel the frustration rushing through her.

"Chris loves me for _me_," Abbie continued, "And you know how you were talking about those sexual urges?"

Her mother stared at her, her mouth almost touching the ground, her eyes wide. "Oh you _didn't_."

"But I did," Abbie confirmed with a smirk, "And I enjoyed it to!"

"You aren't staying here," her mother snarled, standing up, "You're never to see that boy again!"

"Who says I'm going to listen to you?" Abbie snapped.

"Why are you being so selfish?" her mother asked her with a growl.

"_I'm _being selfish!" Abbie exclaimed, "You're the one who wants to keep me all to yourself! You know….I have no idea what the hell you did to ruin me! You fattened me up, and no one loved me, except for you? Why did you do it, Mom? _Why_? Did you want to look pretty beside me, did you want people to say that you were prettier than your own daughter?"

Abbie could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she wasn't finished.

"You don't know what it feels like…you don't even know what I've gone through, in California and in Castle Rock! But all I know for sure is that I was a different person when I got off the train at the Castle Rock Train Station. I was a different person when I got into Billy's car and met his weirdo friends. I was a different person when I entered this house. I was a different person when I saw for the very first time, the love of my life, where you were just sitting, he was there. Someone finally _loves _me, goddammit! And you're taking me away from the person I care about the most! I mean Mother, what would you expect to happen to a girl whose parents left her in a town alone for an entire year? If you have to blame it on somebody, blame it on YOURSELF!" she screamed the last word and began panting from anger.

Her mother stayed silent, staring at the ground, yet she began to shake her head slowly.

Abbie couldn't believe it. After all she had said, after all she had gone through in California and in Castle Rock, her mother wouldn't let her stay. She turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. She ran into the bathroom, locked the door, and threw up. The effects of bulimia were still following her. Tears running down her face, she immediately grabbed a shampoo bottle and threw it at the door, breaking it. This just wasn't fair to her. No one knew what it was like to have no friends, and soon, she wasn't even going to have any. She wouldn't have her boyfriend….no more Chris. The thought sent more tears to trickle down her face, and actually gasp. She looked up at the ceiling, praying to God that there was some way that she would be able to get out of the house. If she didn't, she wouldn't see any of her friends again. Soon, she became face to face with a window, right above the sink. _Whose ever idea it was to put a window in a bathroom is an idiot, but they are officially my hero_. Abbie climbed onto the sink, out of the window, and gently eased herself down a tree. She jumped to the ground and landed on her feet, and in front of her, she saw none other than Chris.

"Chris, what are you doing here?" she asked softly.

Chris didn't speak, but Abbie could see the cuts on his face, and the black eye. He reached out for her with his left arm. Left arm? _That's strange, Chris is right handed. _His right arm hung limp at his side. Oh no….

"I think my arm popped out of its socket," Chris told her, and she could tell just by his tone that he was in extreme pain.

She slowly lifted his right arm and held his right hand in hers. She stayed quiet. She wouldn't dare say anything or ask him any questions unless he wanted her to. She knew who did it.

"I'm not going to the hospital," Chris stated stubbornly, "They don't give a fuck about what happens to me, they just have to fix it…physically that is…but I don't want people who don't care helping me."

Suddenly, Abbie had an idea. She reached for his left arm and began to drag him down the street.

"Come on, I know who we can go to, he's real close. I don't know why you didn't think of him in the first place."

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To the person who cares about you just as much as I do," Abbie told him.

The two jogged down the street for a little longer, and then Abbie signaled Chris to stop when they got in front of a familiar two-story house with blue shutters. Chris's eyes traveled up the house to a lone window at the left end of the house.

"Oh come on, I don't want to bother Gordie," Chris told her.

"But you can come bother me?" Abbie joked.

"No seriously," Chris said gravely, his face twisted into an expression of pain, "Let's go."

Abbie took Chris's left arm again and pulled him gently to Gordie's window. "Gordie won't mind, Chris. He cares about you so much."

They looked straight up at Gordie's window for a moment, just staring. Then Abbie let go of Chris and picked up a few rocks that were in the dying garden. She stepped back and threw the rock as hard as she could up and at the window. It hit it with a rather loud _tap!_ and when she noticed no movement, she threw them over and over. As Abbie tossed another one at the window, Gordie suddenly poked his head out sleepily.

"Who's there? What do—OUCH!"

The rock had hit Gordie square on the nose, and he began to rub it profusely. He looked down angrily to see who had thrown the rock, but only discovered his best friends.

"Jesus Christ Abbie, you have a pretty good arm, that hurt like shit," Gordie commented, "Why are you guys here?"

"Chris's right arm is dislodged," Abbie called up to him, "He refused to go to the hospital, and I thought bringing him here was the next best thing."

"No, bringing me here _was _the best thing," Chris corrected, "Gordo, can you fix it man?"

Gordie nodded solemnly and retreated back into his room. After a minute or two, the front door opened, and Abbie and Chris stepped inside. Gordie closed the door and gripped Chris's good arm, which Abbie wouldn't be surprised if it was sore by now.

"Come on," Gordie murmured.

He led them upstairs and into his shockingly neat room. He sat Chris down on his bed and began to rummage through his closet, throwing things out of it. Soon Gordie came back to the bed with a dirty towel and scissors. He plopped down gingerly next to Chris, and cut the towel in half. He held out one half to Chris.

"Here," he instructed, "Put this in your mouth. Abbie, you'd better hold his left hand."

Chris stared at the piece of towel in Gordie's hand as if it were a deadly snake. Reluctantly, he took it with his left hand and stuck it into his mouth. Abbie then took a hold of his hand.

Gordie gently rolled up Chris's t-shirt sleeve onto his shoulder and felt his arm. As he did this, Gordie's face paled. This set off a chain reaction with Chris, who had been studying him. Chris's face looked as if he had just seen a ghost. Correction---he _was _a ghost. Gordie then took Chris's right hand in his own.

"Alright. I'm going to pull on your arm and get the bones to go back into their places. You ready?" Gordie asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Chris answered with a little bit of shakiness to his voice.

Gordie took a long, deep breath, counted to three, and tugged as hard as he could. He could feel the joint going back into the socket, and Abbie could hear it snap back into place. Chris almost fell back into the bed in pain, and it took all of Abbie's strength to keep him from doing so. Chris had closed his eyes and screamed into the towel in his mouth, making the sound muffled and rugged. Gordie let go of Chris's arm. But it seemed as if Chris would never let go of Abbie's hand, which was beginning to cramp up and turn a nasty red. Gordie grabbed the other half of the towel he had cut, made a makeshift sling, and gently put Chris's right arm in it. Chris leaned forward and spit out the towel onto the floor.

"Are you alright?" Gordie questioned quietly

"Yeah," he answered back in a pained, high-pitched whisper.

"Spend the night," Gordie ordered, "You look tired, and probably after that you need some sleep."

Chris nodded, and then Abbie made a move to get up. Chris pulled her back down with his left arm.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

"Back home," Abbie responded, and then remembered that the next day, she really was.

"No, stay. Please. I need you here with me," Chris pleaded.

"Fine," Abbie sighed.

Gordie got up and went to the closet again, coming back with a whole bunch of blankets in his arms, and he almost went flying by tripping over one.

"You guys can stay in my bed, I'll stay on the floor," Gordie offered once he steadied himself, but Abbie could tell that he was still unsteady from putting Chris's arm back into place.

"No, guys get in the bed, girl on the floor," Abbie told them with a small smile, and took the blankets out of Gordie's arms.

The guys got ready for bed and then hopped in gratefully, both of them were obviously tired from what had just happened. Abbie took her time laying down the blankets and her thoughts kept wondering back to what she was going to do in the morning.

She wanted to stay in Castle Rock, and then follow Chris to his university. In fact, she just wanted to stay with Chris. But having Castle Rock in the background would be better than just some other city, at least for the next year. Castle Rock was where her life took a turn for the good….but then again, the worse. She learned that there were some people, idiots, assholes, snobs, and hoods, which she couldn't escape, no matter where she went. But Castle Rock showed her that there were good people too. People who judged from the inside and not the outside. People who would care if one of the people who you couldn't escape did something awful to her. The place changed her, it really did.

"Abbie?"

Abbie turned her head towards Gordie's bed. "Yes, Chris?"

"Come here a second, please."

Abbie stood up and then sat down at the edge of Gordie's bed by Chris's feet. Chris sat up slowly, as to not wake Gordie. The two stared at each other until:

"Are you excited about going back to California?"

Abbie's eyes widened at Chris. "No, and I never will be."

"You know, I had forgotten that you didn't even really live here," Chris told her softly, "It's like you've always been here. Been here with me. I….I don't want you to leave."

Abbie put her head to Chris's. "I don't want to leave either. And when I do, I know there will be this part of me that will still be in Castle Rock. Hell, I think all of me is going to still be in Castle Rock."

"It's not good to stay here though," Chris informed, beginning to nuzzle her, "This place is a total dump."

"A total dump where I met my first and only love," Abbie added, and then kissed him.

The two could feel it again: that connection. It was as if they were just destined to be together, as if fate wouldn't have it any other way. Chris eagerly slipped his tongue into her mouth, and they began to kiss heavily, breaths becoming hard to catch. Abbie could feel just by his kiss what he wanted and she could see why. But she couldn't. She knew that she would have to return to California one day, and that day would probably be tomorrow. She knew that she couldn't stop her mother or change her mind. Fate was so sweet, but so cruel.

Abbie broke away reluctantly. She ruffled his hair fondly, and let her hand fall from his hair to his face. She could feel herself holding back the tears. Chris stared at her forlornly, as if she had left him already.

"Come by the house tomorrow morning," Abbie instructed, "Bye love."

And with that, she withdrew her hands and stood up. She turned towards the window, opened it, and began to climb down the tree near it. Once she disappeared from sight, Chris grabbed the towel he had spit out onto the floor earlier and stuffed it back into his mouth. He fell roughly back onto the bed and screamed his stifled, rugged scream.


	22. Hard to Say Important Things: Act 3

**Chapter 22: Hard to Say Important Things: Act 3**

Abbie climbed back up the tree and through the window. As she trudged back into her room, she wondered: _Where had the time gone? _But then the old saying came back into her mind: _Time flies when you're having fun. _Fun? Was Castle Rock what you would define _fun?_

She slipped into bed.

Castle Rock was fun, but only if you hung out with the right people. But who were they? No, they weren't those girls who had others hanging all over them, who seemed to be great at everything they did. No, they weren't those boys who were unnaturally good-looking, good at football, and rather dense. No, the right people were the unique people. The people out of the ordinary. The people you can just tell by giving them a few looks over are different. Those people who dance to the beat of different drum. Those were the right people---at least for her.

Emma was one of those right people. Vern was one of those right people. Teddy was one of those right people. Gordie was one of those right people. Chris was one of those right people. Chris. Chris Chambers. Christopher Chambers. No, he wasn't one of those right people. He was _the _right person. Why did it seem that the supposed wrongdoer was in actuality the righteous, caring leader? Out of every person in the world…..why did it have to be Chris who had this life, this reputation? And how come no one understood? Except for Abbie….she understood him. Because……….

It felt like her heart was about to jump out of her mouth, and her stomach was going to collapse.

Abbie could _relate _to Chris.

Who else could relate to someone like Chris? Couldn't many other people in the city, in the state, in the country, in the world be put in the same place as Chris? But that was the difference between the rest of those people and Abbie: she _loved _him. She was one of the only people who had ever reached out to him, and would have said, "Hey. I'm here for you. I'll never let you go. I'll love you. I'll stand by you." She would have said that to him everyday….even if it would be hard to say.

Abbie got out of bed and turned on the lights.

She sat at the desk with some paper, and wrote.

* * *

Abbie folded her arms. Here she was, at the Castle Rock Train Station. She never thought this moment would ever come. Gordie, Emma, Teddy, and Vern were all there with her. Her father stood off to the side, looking rather aloof and uncomfortable. The train started chugging into the station. They were only waiting on her mother, but she only had one person on her mind.

"Gordie, where's Chris?" Abbie asked anxiously.

"I….I dunno," Gordie responded quietly.

You could tell by looking at his eyes that Gordie was very distraught about one of his best friends moving back home. Those puppy dog eyes that displayed all of those mixed emotions now only held one: the emotion of loss. The same emotion he had held when Denny died.

Vern came from behind and hugged Abbie. "Oh shucks Abbs, I don't want you to leave!"

"I don't want to leave either Vern," Abbie replied shakily, "But I have to."

"I hate you, you know that right?" Teddy asked stubbornly, his arms folded, his eyes wide and raging behind his thick coke bottle glasses.

Abbie turned to him, at a loss. "Teddy, please-"

"You know, me and you…we did all of this shit for each other, and look where it got us: you're on the road back to good ol' sunny Cali, and I'm left in this hellhole. Thanks _a lot_," Teddy replied sarcastically.

"You think you could shut that hole in your face for fucking once?" Emma growled at him, slinging an arm over Abbie's shoulder.

Abbie laid her head against Emma. "I'm going to be lost without you, Em."

"I know you are," Emma informed, "And so am I."

"But you have your wonderful boyfriend," Teddy cut in.

"She's going to miss her friend," Gordie told him, "Is that such a bad thing?"

"Emma should be missing _you_," Teddy quipped, "Since she isn't going to be seeing anymore of you."

Teddy grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her close to him. It was official: Gordie and Teddy were _not _friends anymore. And of course, Teddy thought that Emma and Vern should follow him.

"What gives you the authority to decide that?" Gordie asked him curiously.

"What gives you the authority to be a loser?" Teddy questioned cruelly.

"Cut it out _please_!" Abbie begged, sighing helplessly.

"Here comes your mother," Emma informed quietly, and everyone stopped arguing.

There was Abbie's mother all….disheveled? Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were red: almost as if she had been crying. Wait. Abbie looked closer. She _was _crying. She was talking to her father, her hands waving in different directions, looking like a total mess. Abbie noticed that her father's eyes widened a considerable amount and he actually seemed concerned. And then she noticed a white piece of paper that looked awfully familiar….

"Abbie, Abbie sweetheart!" her mother cried, trotting over towards her and engulfing her in a huge hug, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Abbie could feel her mother's tears soaking through her shirt.

"You can stay, honey, you can stay!"

It was as if someone had raised her 13 stories into the air. Her heart was in her mouth, and she didn't want to swallow it. Swallow that feeling that circulated through her. She could stay in Castle Rock. _She could stay. _

"Oh Gordie, Gordie I can stay!" she screamed, breaking out of her mother's grasp and jumping on him. But then suddenly, it didn't seem all that important. When that someone wasn't there. She let go of him.

"But…..where is he?"

"Oh Abbie…."

Abbie turned around in different directions and tried to look for Chris from where she was. She became frantic.

"Chris, Chris!"

"Abbie!"

Abbie whipped her head around to see Chris running towards her. Once he reached her, he squeezed her so tight she thought she'd be dead in a matter of seconds.

"Don't go, don't go!" he shouted, even though he was right beside her.

"I'm not!" she responded, "My mother is letting me stay!"

After a few seconds of silence, he pulled away from her and held her at arms length, looking into her eyes.

"No way."

"Yes way."

Chris stared at the ground, his expression showing disbelief. He turned swiftly towards Abbie's mother, who came to stand by them.

"W-why?" he asked her, his voice innocent like he was when he was twelve.

"This is why," her mother answered, handing the folded white sheet of paper to Chris.

Chris took it reluctantly and gazed at it warily, as if it was a restraining order to keep him away from Abbie. He turned back towards Abbie and held it out for her.

"Read it to me," Chris ordered softly.

"Read it to all of us," Emma egged on.

Abbie took the paper gently and went to sit on the bench, the whole group standing up and crowding around her. She saw out of the corner of her eye her parents walking away. She focused her concentration back onto the sheet of paper. She opened it slowly, and then, looking around at the encouraging faces of her loved ones, started quietly.

"Dear Chris,

Well, here is my final goodbye. I just….this is so hard to write, so hard to say. But I'm going to do it. You were the one who taught me how…..you and all of my experiences in this small, sleepy, woodsy little town of Castle Rock. When I realized I had feelings for you: you know, those stupid little crushes every teenager has, I was so scared to tell you that I liked you and wanted to go out with you, because I didn't know how you were going to react. But I took a chance (more like you forced it out of me), and what do you know? You tell me that you've liked me for awhile as well. Good came out of me telling you that.

Everything went smoothly with us, even though there were occasional people who would come up to us and say "Why the fuck are you two going out?" and I even got a "You're gonna kill your social life." in the girls' restroom. But I didn't care. And then after a great night, I was raped by your older brother. I wanted to tell everybody, but I knew I couldn't. What would have happened to you if your brother had gone behind bars? I had to protect you. And then I developed……oh hell….I developed bulimia again, like I did when I was in California when all of the kids mocked me because of my weight and appearance. That dreadful place….I don't want to go back. You're the only thing stopping it Chris, and I mean it. That's when you invited me to your house….it was even harder to tell you that I had been raped by Eyeball than saying that I liked you. I didn't know what was going to happen, what you would have done to Eyeball, what you would have said to me. And when you said that you wanted to break up with me: I was scared senseless. It was like all of the life had left me. Then I found out that you wanted to break up with me to protect me---to save me. But you didn't realize Chris: I was safer with you than I was with anyone else. I _felt _safer with you than with anyone else. And then that other thing I struggled to tell you: I _love _you. It was so much different from that silly attraction we had in the beginning: this was _real _love, and I was scared once again: what if you didn't _love _me, what if you didn't want to have your love at sixteen? But I decided to take another chance. And you did.

And now my love, this is definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to say: goodbye. But I can't really tell you goodbye, because you know, I'm actually always with you. And you know, I'll always be there when you need me. You are always in my heart, and hopefully I'll always be in yours, because that's where you will go to find me when times get rough. So, you really want to know why the most important things are the hardest to say? The most important things are the hardest to say because it's not saying them that is hard. What's hard is to find an _understanding ear._ Because there will always be this feeling that no one will get you, that not one person could possibly understand what you are feeling at any time, at any moment. But here's the catch: there is.

And you, Christopher Chambers, are that person.

I love you."

By the time Abbie finished, she had tears streaming down her face. She looked up at Chris, who stood right in front of her, his eyes carrying that same emotion when they both felt the connection when they kissed. The emotion that held all emotions. Abbie had it too. She knew that that emotion, that connection: she was going to have it for the rest of her life.

She sprang up from the bench and engulfed Chris in a huge hug, her light brown her splaying around them.

"I'm sorry, I just…it was so hard to write, I just…..I felt, I _feel _so much-"

"It's alright to feel that way," Chris murmured, his head buried into her hair, "I feel that way too."

"I couldn't help myself…."

Chris raised his head out of Abbie's hair, and Abbie could see the tears swimming in Chris's ocean colored hues.

"I just want you to know," Chris told her softly, "I'll always be your understanding ear."


	23. Goodbye, Loves

A/N: Hey guys! I'm really, really sad. It's the end of the road. I just want to say that it was a true pleasure to write this story, and part of it was you guys helping me along with suggestions and encouragement, I really appreciate it all. I love all of you guys so much, you have all truly been a pleasure to write for, and finally, thank you all for reading my story. Thanks! Now ladies and gentlemen, I give you the absolute final chapter of Hard to Say Important Things! (cue lights!)

**Chapter 23: Goodbye, Loves**

(Vern Tessio POV)

After Abbie ended up staying, high school got a little weird. I didn't see Chris and Gordie around anymore, and I thought that kind of sucked because they were great friends. But it doesn't really matter.

But I really hated that Abbie had to move out of the house. Because man, we had spent some good times together in my house that year! We had watched some TV, snuck into Billy's room (under Abbie's orders of course, I was scared!), made fun of my Ma's cooking and ate cherry Pez instead (yum!), and I even got her to help me just look around the porch for my pennies. We actually had a good time. But then, her parents sold her house in California and bought one here, so we kind of saw less of each other. We just didn't hang out in the same crowd anymore, that's all.

The people I did see a lot of were Teddy and Emma….well, sometimes not even Emma, because she would want to hang out with Gordie, Abbie, and Chris, and then Teddy would…well, that's not fair for me to tell that, Teddy might beat me up, even now! Yeah, I kind of just followed Teddy where ever he went, and he always bossed me around. He was fun, I guess, but he was pretty mean to me sometimes. Teddy was the only real friend I had in high school, and I guess I was his only friend too.

But the best thing was my girlfriend Trisha. She was funny, pretty, kind, giving, and….between you and me, she was (and still is) a little stupid! Funny how someone like me ended up with someone kind of stupid. But it didn't really matter how stupid she was (and is): she's real nice, and I ended up really loving her. So I asked her to marry me during graduation, and she said yes! I still can't believe that I got married, I just don't seem like that type. Oh well. So, I had four kids, and inherited my dad's lumber job in Castle Rock. It's funny, I've never been out of the town before, even for lumbering works, and I don't make a lot of money. I've never really seen what's outside of Castle Rock, but I guess I'm ok.

(Teddy Duchamp POV)

**I pretty much hate my fucking life. It sucks dick. **

**So, I go through the shop courses in high school, and I'm practically the king. Yeah, the king of the retards. To think that I, Teddy Duchamp, was the smartest guy in those courses….you must think that A: I'm lying, or B:….those kids must have been pretty damn stupid. Well, if you picked B, you're right. If you picked A, fuck you.**

**Yeah, those kids were really dumb, those morphadites. Plus, I had Vern all up my ass. But hey, he was my personal slave….that hopeless loser did anything and everything for me. Yeah, maybe I bossed him around…but who cares? He was a dork, a nobody. He must have thought I was his only friend……….eheheheeheeheehe! Right, like I'd be that dumbass's friend, eheehehee! **

**You know, there were three other friends I had: Abbie Tessio, Chris Chambers, and Gordie Lachance. Damn, I think I hated those last two guys. Before I used to like them, but then suddenly they broke away from me….you know why? Because they took the goddamn college courses! Those assholes thought they were too fucking smart to hang around with me! They really pissed me off, I'm pretty sure. I also think that that Abbie Tessio used to date Chambers. We were pretty good friends, I guess. But hey: she had her boyfriend. No use in having me around if I'm not your boyfriend….but if I am around and I'm not your boyfriend…..eheheheeheehe! I didn't try to fuck around with her though. I had my own gal.**

**Ah, Emma. She's the one who told me all of that shit about those guys….I kind of forgot. But hey, who gives a fuck? I surely don't. But here's a little secret: I did give a fuck to Emma. Quite a few actually, eheheheeheeheheeheehe! I actually got her pregnant in high school, junior year. So I proposed to her. And we still haven't gotten fucking married yet. Ain't that a pisser? Anyway, we kept the kid, and let's just say I couldn't take care of it (it wasn't even a boy for Christ's sake!). We kind of dumped the kid onto Em's parents, so she got all pissed off at me. Plus, she was wasting her time with those fucks Lachance and Chambers. So I did some things that would make her stop seeing them. Yeah, a really rocky relationship. But she did come back to me in the end. **

**Anyway, after high school (yeah, I graduated. What's it to you?), I signed up for the army. My one and only passion, the one fucking thing I really loved besides Em Gem. And what do you know, they don't except me because I'm pretty much screwed with my eyes and my fucking dad ruined my left ear. So I didn't get in. So you can say I got a little, teensy, weensy, tiny bit angry. And landed myself in goddamn jail. Well, I stay in there for about a month or two, and then suddenly Emma comes to my rescue, bails me out, and I'm as free as an ugly chick. So then I just started taking up odd jobs to pay for me, Em, and the damn kid.**

**And in all this time, I didn't leave Oregon. How fucking pathetic is that? Damn. I've thought of suicide many times, even in high school. Sucks, because if I didn't have Emma, I'd have fucking killed myself years ago. **

(Emma Sheffer POV)

_Wow. My life is…wow._

_It's really strange actually. You see, in high school, I was split down the middle of two groups. There was Gordie Lachance, Chris Chambers, and Abbie Tessio. And then there was Vern Tessio and Teddy Duchamp. And there I was, in the middle of some awful tug-of-war scheme. Teddy would scream and yell at me because I would hang out with Chris and Gordie (he didn't really mind Abbie all that much, but she was Chris's girlfriend). One time there was this dance at school, and Teddy was off somewhere, probably hitting up some girl behind my back. So Gordie came and asked me to dance for one of the slow songs, and I said sure. And then while I was dancing with Gordie…cue an outraged Teddy Duchamp (trust me, you don't want to see one of those). And he yanked me out of Gordie's grasp, pulled me off in private, and slapped me across the face. Cue detention for a month. But the great thing was that Teddy didn't mind Abbie, so I could always hang out with her. She was my best friend until the end of high school. She was my only friend who was of the same sex, what can I say? I could always count on her. _

_Teddy Duchamp. What a guy. He was (and still can be) such a sweet, genuine guy, and then later he can turn around and be this angry, vile….thing. He impregnated me in our junior year, and we had Laura. Well, of course, since he was upset Laura wasn't a boy, Teddy dumped her and didn't pay her any attention. I mean, I know he was still a kid and all but…it just wasn't fair. So we kind of gave her up to my parents to raise, but now she lives with us. Us. Oh god. _

_Let me tell you how it got to be "us". Well, I was in the college courses, another of the many reasons Teddy would get upset with me. So I get into this great performing arts college, and had planned to go after the summer after my senior year in high school. And I did. I told Teddy goodbye, and I left. I didn't want anything to do with him anymore. But then a couple of months later, I heard: Teddy landed himself in the Castle Rock jail. Well, I realized that deep down, I really loved him. Sure, he could be a bastard sometimes, but I loved him. So I left my college and moved back to Castle Rock. I bailed Teddy out of jail, and now we live with Laura in a little shack of a house. While Teddy does his odd jobs, I sing and dance in clubs (you don't want to know what kind) to pay for Laura to go to school. _

_In a way, I think I hold the family up. But it's sad, because I actually got out of Castle Rock for awhile, but then I came back. I really didn't get to experience all the things I wanted to. But hey, if it's for love, it's ok._

(Gordie Lachance POV)

_Where did the time go? It's amazing, that I actually came out ok._

_High school: a jungle, a snake pit, a zoo. If you had to associate high school with anything, it would be something that involves wild animals. It was a really frightening place. There was always this reputation I had to live up to: Denny did this, Denny did that, you should do it too. But somewhere along the line, I realized, with the help of my friends: I'm not Denny. I'm Gordie. I'm Gordie Lachance, and I will do what I want to do. And I didn't want to be Superman. And I also realized: it wasn't that I was supposed to be like Denny, it was that I wanted my father to like me. But he wanted Denny. And you know, I wasn't Denny. So I just decided: fuck it. I will do what I want to do, I will be who I want to be. And with my great friends, I ended up being who I wanted to be. _

_Chris Chambers, Abbie Tessio, and Emma Sheffer helped me through high school. With their encouragement, I kept at it, and didn't let the fact that my father hated me ruin what I wanted to accomplish. I miss those friends now, I wish I could still talk to them, especially Chris. They had helped me so much… And then along came a girl. Cammie. One day she came up to me and asked if I remembered her. I thought for a minute, and then said yes. She then told me about why she didn't stay friends with the gang: she had been jealous that Abbie had been dating me: but that was a long time ago. She apologized, and I ended up in a relationship with her. But not just any old relationship: we got married by the time we finished college._

_It's weird. Despite not living up to expectations, I created my own. And those I lived up to. I am now doing what I do best: writing. I've already written six novels, and I'm working on the seventh right now. It's something really special, something close to my heart that needs to be shared. It only just popped into my mind because of a major occurrence of something, but it happened a very long time ago._

_I made it out of Castle Rock, have a wife, a kid, ended up becoming a freelance writer, and I actually got to see the world beyond my woodsy, boring hometown. Again, it's weird. Life is great, in yet it's cruel. But isn't everything like that?_

(Chris Chambers POV)

**I actually amounted to something. Is that a total shocker? It surely is to me and the entire community of Castle Rock. **

**The community of Castle Rock. The damn community of Castle Rock. High school were the hardest years of my life thanks to everyone living in Castle Rock. Everyone loathed the fact that a dirty little Chambers boy was taking the college courses. Everyday I sat among the cleanest, wealthiest, and, may I say, the most stuck up students. While they wore those pressed dress shirts, pants, and skirts, I was stuck in my usual torn-up jeans, boots, and I even became attached to a leather jacket (haha, I bet that made me sound like a hood). Honestly, I had thought about quitting those courses, and I was so close to doing so often. Students gossiped and bullied, teachers urged me to take even one shop course, and my father. Oh my father. I think he landed me in the hospital once….he hit me over the head with a beer bottle. Without the pressure to quit, there was still the work itself. I had to keep going back and relearning things before I could step up to the parts of the studies that were really complex. **

**It's just….I made it. Through all of _that_. Through the students, the teachers, the work, the family, the reputation. And…well, I know I wouldn't have made it without my friends. Gordie Lachance. Jesus Christ, what a lifesaver. Every night we would sit down and study, and I'd always leave him, angry. And it was horrible, because every time I left, he'd always have this terrified look on his face, as if he was scared that I wouldn't be able to do it anymore and give up. And you know, someone who is that scared for someone else really is special, especially if that someone has problems of their own. I'm so grateful for Gordie Lachance. I couldn't have asked for a better best friend in high school. The sad thing is…I haven't seen him in ten years. But even if I never see him ever again, I know that he got me where I am today, and I'll love him forever. **

**Even though having Gordie would have been enough, I had (and still have) the love of my life, Abbie. What's there to say about Abbie? She's kind, caring, intelligent, unique, beautiful….she's special. She's important. I love her. She just kind of lit up my life. I never thought……I never thought that there would be someone who could _love _me so much and not give a shit about my reputation. **

**There was this one time in junior year when she had looked awful. Not saying that she looked ugly, because she always looks pretty. But she looked really sickly, and I was concerned. Actually, I had been concerned for awhile. I had noticed that once she had started to date me, other people stopped talking to her and bullied her a little bit. So I knew that I had to break it off with her, no matter how much I knew I loved her. I wanted her to be happy. I invited her to my house (when my parents and my two older brothers were gone, of course), and she confessed something to me: she had been raped by my older brother Eyeball. I just……after I told her why I had to break up with me: she begged me not too. She said she didn't care what everyone else thought because she loved _me_. And I think that she was the only person who ever flat out said that. **

**And then there was this time when we all thought she was leaving Castle Rock for good. I can't tell you what I felt. It' just…..I don't know if I ever felt such pain as I felt in those moments. **

**I'm sorry. It's just…..it's hard to explain. And it's not because I don't have an understanding ear. It's just…..it's sometimes hard to put your emotions into words. That's how I feel about Abbie. **

**Whenever I see her, my heart starts to pound. Whenever I touch her soft skin, I can't help but shiver. Whenever I kiss her…….I soar. Whenever I'm with her, I'm in another world. It's like that world of Castle Rock never even existed when I'm with her. I can close my eyes and imagine that I had a great childhood, nothing that consisted of beatings, and bullying, and teasing, and undermining, and feeling as if I were alone. I'm in a whole new world with her. It's like I can finally let loose, I can finally be free of everything I once feared. **

**Abbie proves to me that I actually made it out of that town. And….and I love her more than anything. **

**What….what's going on? I see two people fighting…..**

(Abbie Tessio POV)

My life is gone. I'm dead. My death was caused by the death of Christopher Chambers. Damn….if I had been there with him when he died, I would have pulled that knife out of his neck and stabbed it into my own. My life is not important to know. I am dead. I am alive. I'm both, actually. It's a cruel game of tug-o-war. I can come back to life, just not the life I had before I died. I'm different without Chris. He saved me, in every way someone can be. He introduced me to true love, and to friends. Friends. Those friends that I had in Castle Rock. They made me what I am today. They made themselves what they are today. We affected each other, we helped each other, we discouraged each other, and we brought the life back into each other. The friends you have as a child and a teenager are the ones who give you the life you have forever. They are the ones who help you build your life. And I can say that I never had friends like the ones I had then. Every single one of them got me ready for the amazing, wonderful things in life. And the awful, devastating things.

It's so important and so hard……it's so hard to say all of this.

And I don't even have my understanding pair of ears beside me.

FIN


End file.
